Morphological findings in long-term pancreatic tissue transplants in the anterior eye chamber of rats.

Morphological changes in 21-day-old embryonic and 2-day-old postnatal rat pancreatic tissue fragments transplanted into the anterior eye chamber of homologous animals for 74, 77, 180, and 534 days were investigated using light and electron microscopic, acetylcholinesterase enzyme, and immunohistochemical methods. The pancreatic acinar cells degenerated and were not observed at this stage of transplantation. The ductal system proliferated and partly differentiated into endocrine cells that subsequently formed many new islets of Langerhans as well. The structures of beta-, alpha-, delta-, and pancreatic polypeptide cells were found to be intact even 1.5 years after transplantation. In addition to this, the organization of these cells inside the islets is similar to that of normal pancreatic tissue. The transplanted tissue fragments were well vascularized with blood vessels and innervated also by serotonergic cells and acetylcholinesterase-positive neurons. It is concluded that pancreatic tissue fragments, with the exception of the acinar component, can grow and survive with intact structure in the anterior eye chamber of homologous rats for up to 1.5 years.