The regional distribution and frequency of pancreatic endocrine cells in the red-bellied frog, Bombina orientalis, were studied by the immunohistochemical peroxidase anti-peroxidase (PAP) method using five types of specific mammalian antisera to insulin, glucagon, somatostatin, bovine pancreatic polypeptide (PP) and secretin. The frequency was calculated as the mean number of each endocrine cel...

Hyperplastic cells in subcapsular cell hyperplasia (SCH) lesion in adrenal glands of female IQI/Jic mice were examined by electron microscopy. These cells were small and polygonal, and had irregular nuclei, elongated mitochondria with lamellar cristae and dense lipid droplets. While these cells showed different features, some of them had desmosomes and basement membranes, and a few round mitoch...

Using a unique injury model of the pancreas in mouse, Xu et al. (2008) now reveal the involvement of neurogenin3, a marker for embryonic-type endocrine progenitor cells, in the formation of new insulin-producing beta cells. These neurogenin3-positive facultative endocrine progenitor cells in the adult pancreas may be of potential value for treating diabetes.

Inactivating mutations in the MEN1 gene predisposing to the multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 (MEN1) syndrome can also cause sporadic pancreatic endocrine tumors. MEN1 encodes menin, a subunit of MLL1/MLL2-containing histone methyltransferase complexes that trimethylate histone H3 at lysine 4 (H3K4me3). The importance of menin-dependent H3K4me3 in normal and transformed pancreatic endocrine c...

Ghrelin is a novel gastrointestinal hormone produced by rat and human gastric X-like neuroendocrine cells, which strongly stimulates GH secretion and influences energy balance, gastric motility, and acid secretion. Ghrelin is expressed in pituitary and gastrointestinal endocrine tumors. It binds to the GH secretagogue receptor (GHS-R), which is present in a wide variety of central and periphera...

C2cd4c, encoded by a gene belonging to the C2cd4 family, contains a C2 domain conserved across species and is localized to the cytoplasm. To examine the role of C2cd4c in the pancreas, we studied its localization and generated C2cd4c knockout (KO) mice. C2cd4c was expressed in pancreatic endocrine progenitors at early embryonic stages. When endocrine cells arise from their precursors, C2cd4c is...

OBJECTIVE The global incidence of diabetes continues to increase. Cell replacement therapy and islet transplantation offer hope, especially for severely affected patients. Efforts to differentiate insulin-producing beta-cells from progenitor or stem cells require knowledge of the transcriptional programs that regulate the development of the endocrine pancreas. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Diff...

parts: One of them is exocrine part where digestive enzymes are released and the other one is endocrine part where regulatory hormones are released into blood circulation . The endocrine part, formed by the islets of Langerhans, is multihormonal unit composed of at least four types of cells; the insulin (B cells), the glucagon (A cells), the somatostatin (D cells), and the pancreatic polypeptid...