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This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Supplemental Data All Versions of this Article: 290/5/E1041    most recent 00365.2005v1 Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Web of Science (8) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Hara, M. Articles by Bindokas, V. P. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Hara, M. Articles by Bindokas, V. P.

INNOVATIVE METHODOLOGY

Imaging pancreatic -cells in the intact pancreas

Departments of ¹Medicine, ²Molecular Genetics and Cell Biology, and ³Neurobiology, Pharmacology and Physiology, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois; ⁴Department of Genetics, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and ⁵Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee

Submitted 4 August 2005 ; accepted in final form 12 December 2005

We have developed a method to visualize fluorescent protein-labeled -cells in the intact pancreas through combined reflection and confocal imaging. This method provides a 3-D view of the -cells in situ. Imaging of the pancreas from mouse insulin I promoter (MIP)-green (GFP) and red fluorescent protein (RFP) transgenic mice shows that islets, -cell clusters, and single -cells are not evenly distributed but are aligned along the large blood vessels. We also observe the solitary -cells in both fetal and adult mice and along the pancreatic and common bile ducts. We have imaged the developing endocrine cells in the embryos using neurogenin-3 (Ngn3)-GFP mice crossed with MIP-RFP mice. The dual-color-coded pancreas from embryos (E15.5) shows a large number of green Ngn3-expressing proendocrine cells with a smaller number of red -cells. The imaging technique that we have developed, coupled with the transgenic mice in which -cells and -cell progenitors are labeled with different fluorescent proteins, will be useful for studying pancreatic development and function in normal and disease states.

development of pancreas; islet formation

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