[Functional study of rat islands of Langerhans cultured in agarose gel].

We have studied the viability of rat's pancreatic islets included in agarose and cultured in RPMI 1640 Medium in basal conditions (glucose: 11 mM) and during periods of stimulation (glucose: 22 mM + theophylline 5 mM). In our experiments, the capacity of the islets to release insulin in response to glucose variation has been conserved during ten days. In view of these encouraging results, we hope to use islets-agarose systems in bio-artificial pancreas.