title: Quantitative morphology of B, A, D, and PP cells in infants of diabetic mothers.
abstract: Pancreatic specimens from 34 infants of diabetic mothers (IDM) and 32 control infants of gestational ages 26-44 wk were examined histologically using immunocytochemical stains for insulin, glucagon, somatostatin, and pancreatic polypeptide (PP). Each section was divided into PP-rich and PP-poor regions that are thought to be derived from the ventral and dorsal lobes of the gland, respectively. In some of these, the fractional area (%) occupied by positively stained B, A, and PP cells was determined by automatic image analysis, and the area occupied by D cells was determined by conventional point counting. The B cell fractional area was significantly higher in the IDM in both PP-poor and PP-rich areas (P less than 0.02). the fractional area of A cells in PP-poor areas and of PP cells in PP-rich areas was also significantly greater in IDM (P less than 0.02). The total endocrine cell fractional area was significantly greater in IDM in PP-poor but not in PP-rich regions of the pancreas. These results are not compatible with the hypothesis that maternal hyperglycemia results in specific fetal B cell hyperplasia and raise the possibility that hyperplasia of B, A, and PP cells in IDM may result from a variety of stimuli or that one stimulus acts on a pluripotential stem cell.
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D005865:Gestational Age; D005934:Glucagon / Q000032:analysis; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007328:Insulin / Q000032:analysis; D010179:Pancreas / Q000032:analysis / Q000196:embryology / Q000473:pathology*; D010191:Pancreatic Polypeptide / Q000032:analysis*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011254:Pregnancy in Diabetics / Q000473:pathology*; D013004:Somatostatin / Q000032:analysis
chemical_list: D007328:Insulin; D013004:Somatostatin; D010191:Pancreatic Polypeptide; D005934:Glucagon