TOWARDS THE DEVELOPMENT OF A BIOARTIFICIAL PANCREAS - EFFECTS OF POLY-L-LYSINE ON ALGINATE BEADS WITH BTC3 CELLS

A bioartificial tissue construct that consists of insulin-secreting ce lls entrapped in an alginate/poly-L-lysine (PLL) matrix offers a promi sing approach for the treatment of type I diabetes, Use of transformed cells has been proposed as a solution to the cell availability proble m posed by islets, The growth characteristics of transformed cells in their sequestered environment and the effects of PLL on their metaboli c and secretory activities have not yet been characterized, Our data d emonstrate that mouse insulinoma beta TC3 cells proliferate while they are entrapped in both PLL-free and PLL-coated alginate beads, During this process, cell aggregates develop in the bead periphery, which inc rease in number and size with time. PLL is crucial for the long-term i n vitro structural stability of beads, and it does not appear to affec t the metabolic and secretory activities of entrapped beta TC3 cells. The implications of these findings in the development of a bioartifici al pancreatic construct based on transformed cells are discussed. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Inc.