Bridging the Gap: Pancreas Tissue Slices From Organ and Tissue Donors for the Study of Diabetes Pathogenesis

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

  • Christian M. Cohrs - , German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD), Institute of Physiology, Paul Langerhans Institute Dresden (PLID) of the Helmholtz Center Munich (Author)
  • Chunguang Chen - , Institute of Physiology, German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD), Paul Langerhans Institute Dresden (PLID) of the Helmholtz Center Munich (Author)
  • Mark A. Atkinson - , University of Florida (Author)
  • Denise M. Drotar - , University of Florida (Author)
  • Stephan Speier - , Institute of Physiology, German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD), Paul Langerhans Institute Dresden (PLID) of the Helmholtz Center Munich (Author)

Abstract

Over the last two decades, increased availability of human pancreatic tissues has allowed for major expansions in our understanding of islet biology in health and disease. Indeed, studies of fixed and frozen pancreatic tissues, as well as efforts using viable isolated islets obtained from organ donors, have provided significant insights toward our understanding of diabetes. However, the procedures associated with islet isolation result in distressed cells that have been removed from any surrounding influence. The pancreas tissue slice technology was developed as an in situ approach to overcome certain limitations associated with studies on isolated islets or fixed tissue. In this Perspective, we discuss the value of this novel platform and review how pancreas tissue slices, within a short time, have been integrated in numerous studies of rodent and human islet research. We show that pancreas tissue slices allow for investigations in a less perturbed organ tissue environment, ranging from cellular processes, over peri-islet modulations, to tissue interactions. Finally, we discuss the considerations and limitations of this technology in its future applications. We believe the pancreas tissue slices will help bridge the gap between studies on isolated islets and cells to the systemic conditions by providing new insight into physiological and pathophysiological processes at the organ level.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)11-22
Number of pages12
JournalDiabetes
Volume73
Issue number1
Publication statusPublished - Jan 2024
Peer-reviewedYes

External IDs

PubMed 38117999

Keywords