Understanding the mechanisms of beta-cell dynamics in postnatal animals is central to cure diabetes. A major obstacle in evaluating the status of pancreatic cells is the lack of surface markers. Here we performed quantitative measurements of two internal markers to follow the developmental history of islets. One marker, cell-cycle activity, was established by measuring expression of Ki67 and th...

Heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) has been described as an inducible protein that is capable of cytoprotection via radical scavenging and the prevention of apoptosis. Chronic exposure to hyperglycemia can lead to cellular dysfunction that may become irreversible over time, and this process has been termed glucose toxicity. Yet little is known about the relation between glucose toxicity and HO-1 in the is...

preliminary studies revealed that urtica dioica has been known as a plant that decrease blood glucose. despite the importance of this plant in herbal medicine, relatively little research has been down on effects of this plant on islets yet. the objective of the current study was to evaluate the effect of dried urtica dioica leaf alcoholic and aqueous extracts on the number and the diameter of t...

Clinical islet transplantation is a promising treatment for patients with type 1 diabetes. However, pancreatic islets vary in size and shape affecting their survival and function after transplantation because of mass transport limitations. To reduce diffusion restrictions and improve islet cell survival, the generation of islets with optimal dimensions by dispersion followed by reassembly of is...

Preliminary studies revealed that Urtica dioica has been known as a plant that decrease blood glucose. Despite the importance of this plant in herbal medicine, relatively little research has been down on effects of this plant on islets yet. The objective of the current study was to evaluate the effect of dried urtica dioica leaf alcoholic and aqueous extracts on the number and the diameter of t...

background: leptin and adiponectin are the two key metabolic hormones secreted from adipocytes to control food intake and energy expenditure. the action of both hormones in regulation of gonadotropin releasing hormone (gnrh) secretion from the hypothalamus is mediated through kisspeptins. kisspeptins are products of kiss-1 gene. leptin and adiponectin are modulators of kiss-1 expression in the ...

Pancreatic Langerhans islets are mainly composed of insulinsecreting beta cells and glucagon-secreting alpha cells, along with other minor cell types, and play a central role in the regulation of blood glucose levels. Because of this, imaging of viable pancreatic islets is an important component in research on diabetes both in clinical and experimental medicine. The conventional imaging techniq...

BACKGROUNDS/AIMS Obese rats obtained by neonatal monosodium glutamate (MSG) administration present insulin hypersecretion. The metabolic mechanism by which glucose catabolism is coupled to insulin secretion in the pancreatic β-cells from MSG-treated rats is understood. The purpose of this study was to evaluate glucose metabolism in pancreatic islets from MSG-treated rats subjected to swimming t...

In the presence of high glucose concentration (16.7 mM), pancreatic islets show increased activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GSHPx). This activation may be a result of reactive oxygen species (ROS) stimulation, which is generated during glucose metabolism. NAD(P)H oxidase is mainly responsible for ROS production by phagocytic cells but its isoforms have been fo...

Mutations in pancreatic duodenal homeobox 1 (PDX-1) can cause a monogenic form of diabetes (maturity onset diabetes of the young 4) in humans, and silencing Pdx-1 in pancreatic β-cells of mice causes diabetes. However, it is not established whether epigenetic alterations of PDX-1 influence type 2 diabetes (T2D) in humans. Here we analyzed mRNA expression and DNA methylation of PDX-1 in human pa...