in this study, l-131-mibg imaging was performed in 44 patients with clinical suspicion of tumors originating from neuro-endocrine system. the patients were referred to our department following plasma and urinary measurement of epinephrine, norepinehrine and vanilmandelic acidfvma). radionuclide imaging was performel as a comparative or confirmatory measure in all patients who had previous abdom...

The endocrine cells of the human duodenal bulb were observed under the electron microscope in biopsy tissues taken by normal procedure and after luminal acidification. 1. The endocrine cells in this portion were found more frequently than in the lower part of the duodenum previously examined by our research group. 2. At least 9 types of endocrine cells were distinguished by their fine structure...

The classical triad of McCune-Albright syndrome (MAS) consists of polyostotic fibrous dysplasia (FD), skin hyperpigmentation (café-au-lait spots), and endocrine dysfunction, frequently seen in females as precocious puberty. Etiology is genetically based and is explained by mosaicism of activating somatic mutations of the alpha-subunit of Gs protein. Clinical presentation is varied and is depend...

Large aggregations of endocrine cells at the top of villi in the upper small intestine, discovered by SEGI (1935) in human fetuses and hence called SEGI's caps, have been known to occur also in bovine and porcine fetuses. Using bovine fetuses and newborns, this study aimed to clarify the fate of and changes in the SEGI's cap during the perinatal period. Immunocytochemistry was performed for CgA...

Neurog3 (Neurogenin 3 or Ngn3) is both necessary and sufficient to induce endocrine islet cell differentiation from embryonic pancreatic progenitors. Since robust Neurog3 expression has not been detected in hormone-expressing cells, Neurog3 is used as an endocrine progenitor marker and regarded as dispensable for the function of differentiated islet cells. Here we used 3 independent lines of Ne...

The location and lineage of cells that give rise to endocrine islets during embryogenesis has not been established nor has the origin or identity of adult islet stem cells. We have employed an inducible Cre-ER(TM)-LoxP system to indelibly mark the progeny of cells expressing either Ngn3 or Pdx1 at different stages of development. The results provide direct evidence that NGN3+ cells are islet pr...

The pancreas contains exocrine, endocrine, and ductal cells and serves two major functions: (a) the production of digestive enzymes, such as amylase and lipase, which are secreted by exocrine acinar cells and routed to the intestine by a branched ductal network; and (b) the regulation of blood sugar, which is achieved by endocrine cells of the islets of Langerhans. The endocrine cells, arranged...