title: Expression of alpha, beta A and beta B subunits of inhibin or activin and follistatin in rat pancreatic islets.
abstract: We first detected the mRNA expression of follistatin and three subunits of inhibin/activin in rat pancreatic islets by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Immunohistochemistry using anti-follistatin serum (against residues 123-134) revealed that follistatin was localized only in insulin-producing B cells. Although the beta A subunit was detectable in the islets, the immunostainable cell types were completely different with two beta A antisera, i.e. anti-beta A (1-10)-Tyr stained B cells, while anti-beta A (87-99) stained glucagon-producing A cells. This inconsistent immunoreactivity was probably related to follistatin binding to beta subunits of inhibin/activin. This study indicates that follistatin and inhibin/activin in the islet serve as paracrine or autocrine modulators in the endocrine pancreas.
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Anatomy, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ogawa
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Abe
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kurosawa
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kurohmaru
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sugino
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Takahashi
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hayashi
mesh_terms: D028341:Activins; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D005260:Female; D038681:Follistatin; D015870:Gene Expression; D006023:Glycoproteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D007265:Inhibins / Q000378:metabolism*; D007515:Islets of Langerhans / Q000378:metabolism*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009838:Oligodeoxyribonucleotides / Q000737:chemistry; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar
chemical_list: D038681:Follistatin; D006023:Glycoproteins; D009838:Oligodeoxyribonucleotides; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D028341:Activins; D007265:Inhibins