[Study of the growth and secretion of microencapsulated pancreatic B cell line in vitro]

To study the growth and secretion of pancreatic B cell line BTC6-F7 in the alginate polylysine-alginate (APA) microcapsules and explore the possibility of utilizing it as bioartificial islets.Microencapsulated BTC6-F7 cells prepared with electric droplet generator were cultured in vitro, and the growth and insulin secretion of them were measured periodically.Over the 90-day observation period, BTC6-F7 cells were able to grow and survive as cell clusters in the microcapsules and finally fulfill the capsules. But the microcapsules remained well after the long-time culture. The average total cell number per capsule were increasing with time, but the cell viability was decreasing. The changes of insulin secretion and average live cell number per capsule were in a same manner: for the first two weeks they increased rapidly and then maintained in a relatively constant levels for the rest time.The microencapsulated pancreatic B cells prepared by us could survive, grow and secretion for a long time. This has made a basis for further development of bioartificial islets, and also can be used to study the mechanism and therapy of diabetes mellitus.