title: Calbindin D-27 kDa: preferential localization in non-B islet cells of the rat pancreas.
abstract: The presence and abundance of calbindin in rat pancreatic islet cells was assessed by immunohistochemistry of either whole islets or purified B and non-B islet cells, as well as by Western blotting of extracts derived from whole islets and purified B and non-B islet cells. Immunohistochemistry of pancreatic sections indicated a higher calbindin content in non-B cells, located at the periphery of the islets, than in the centrally located insulin-producing B cells. Comparable results were obtained in purified islet cells. Likewise, scanning densitometry of the Western blots indicated that, relative to cell volume, the single calbindin band (Mr 27 kDa) was 5-7 times higher in non-B than in B cells. In the splenic lobe of chick pancreas, however, the opposite situation prevailed. Thus, insulin-producing cells clustered in small roundish islets were more intensely labelled after exposure to anti-calbindin serum than non-B islet cells located in large and irregularly shaped islets. Nevertheless, even in the chick pancreas, non-B islet cells contained an appreciable amount of calbindin.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Histology, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Pochet
authors.forename: D G
authors.initials: DG
authors.lastname: Pipeleers
authors.forename: W J
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Malaisse
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D064026:Calbindins; D002469:Cell Separation; D002645:Chickens; D007124:Immunoenzyme Techniques; D007515:Islets of Langerhans / Q000032:analysis*; D008970:Molecular Weight; D051381:Rats; D064030:S100 Calcium Binding Protein G / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D064026:Calbindins; D064030:S100 Calcium Binding Protein G