ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: In vitro studies with human fetal islets of different gestational ages (GA) would be a great tool to generate information on the developmental process of the islets as this would help to recontextualize diabetes research and clinical practice. Pancreatic islets from human cadavers and other animal species are extensively researched to explore their suitability for islet transplantation procedure, one of the upcoming treatment strategies for insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. Although human fetal islets are also considered for islet transplantation, ethical issues and limited knowledge constraints their use. The fetal islets could be explored to address the information lacunae on the maturity process of pancreatic islets and the endocrine-exocrine signaling mechanisms. AIM: This study aimed to assess the feasibility of isolating viable islets and study the cytoarchitecture of the fetal pancreas of GA 22-29 weeks, not reported otherwise. METHODOLOGY: Pancreas obtained from the aborted fetuses of GA 22-29 weeks were subjected to collagenase digestion and were further cultured to determine the viability in vitro. Parameters assessed were expression of markers for endocrine cell lineages and insulin release to glucose challenge. RESULTS: Islets were viable in vitro and islets were shown to maintain cues for post-digestion re-aggregation and expansion in culture. The immunofluorescent staining showed islets of varying sizes, homogenous cell clusters aggregating to form heterogenous cell clusters, otherwise not reported for this GA. On stimulation with different concentrations of glucose (2.8 and 28 mM), the fetal islets in the culture exhibited insulin release, and this response confirmed their viability in vitro. CONCLUSION: Our findings showed that viable islets could be isolated and cultured in vitro for further in-depth studies to explore their proliferative potential as well as for the identification of pancreatic progenitors, a good strategy to take forward.
ABSTRACT
Objective: To optimize growth in very low birth weight (VLBW) infants, human milk fortification is standard of care in neonatal units of high-income countries. However, commercial fortifiers may not be available or it may be too expensive in resource-limited settings. As an alternative to using human milk fortifiers, we studied the effects of milk fortification with an infant formula on growth and biochemical parameters of very low birth weight (VLBW) infantsMethods: We undertook a prospective, randomized controlled trial in the neonatal unit of a tertiary care hospital in South India. Preterm infants weighing <1500 grams and <34 weeks of gestation were randomized after stratification according to birth weight into two groups (<1250 g and 1250 to <1500 g). One group received fortified human milk while the other received exclusive human milk. The fortification was done with a commercially available infant milk powder added to expressed breast milk (when the infant reached 150 ml/kg/day of feeds) and continued till the infant reached 1800 g. The primary outcome was the rate of weight gain/kg/day. Secondary outcome measures were linear growth, head circumference increase, biochemical parameters to assess the adequacy or excess of protein supplementation and comorbidities like feed intolerance, sepsis, and necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC).Results: Total of 163 babies were randomized during the study period, of whom 148 babies (73 in the standard arm and 75 in the fortification arm) completed the trial. Baseline demographic data among the two groups were comparable. Weight gain/kg/day (mean difference (MD) 1.98 g/kg/day; 95% CI: 1.03-2.92; p<.001) and linear growth (MD 0.09 cm/week; 95% CI: 0.02-0.2; p=.02) was significantly higher in the fortification arm as compared to the control arm. The head growth (head circumference gain in cm/week) was higher and length of hospital stay lesser in the fortification arm, though not statistically significant. Biochemical parameters, rates of sepsis, feed intolerance, and necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) were not different between the two groups.Conclusion: Fortification with Infant milk powder achieves better growth parameters than unfortified human milk and can be a useful alternative for feeding preterm VLBW infants in low resource settings.
