title: Alteration of islet cell populations in spontaneously diabetic mice.
abstract: Endocrine-cell populations in the islets of Langerhans of mutant mice with a severe hypoinsulinemic diabetes (ob/ob or db/db on the C57BL/KsJ background) or with a mild hyperinsulinemic diabetes (ob/ob or db/db on the C57BL/6J background) were studied quantitatively by immunofluorescence and morphometry. In severely diabetic mice, islets presented a reduced proportion of insulin containing cells but increased glucagon-, somatostatin-, and pancreatic polypeptide (PP)-containing cells, as compared with islets of control (+/+) mice. An inverse change was observed in islets of mildly diabetic mice: islets were hypertrophic and composed mostly of insulin-containing cells, with decreased proportions of glucagon-, somatostatin-, and PP-containing cells. In both types of diabetic syndromes, the changes in cell populations induced a qualitative alteration of cellular interrelationships in the affected islets.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology* / Q000662:veterinary; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005455:Fluorescent Antibody Technique; D005934:Glucagon / Q000378:metabolism; D007328:Insulin / Q000378:metabolism; D007515:Islets of Langerhans / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008820:Mice, Obese; D009765:Obesity; D010455:Peptides / Q000378:metabolism; D013004:Somatostatin / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D007328:Insulin; D010455:Peptides; D013004:Somatostatin; D005934:Glucagon