title: Nestin-lineage cells contribute to the microvasculature but not endocrine cells of the islet.
abstract: To clarify the lineage relationship between cells that express the neural stem cell marker nestin and endocrine cells of the pancreas, we analyzed offspring of a cross between mice carrying a nestin promoter/enhancer-driven cre-recombinase (Nestin-cre) and C57BL/6J-Gtrosa26(tm1Sor) mice that carry a loxP-disrupted beta-galactosidase gene (Rosa26). In nestin-cre(+/tg);R26R(loxP/+) embryos, cre-recombinase was detected in association with nestin-positive cells in the pancreatic mesenchyme with some of the nestin-positive cells lining vascular channels. In postnatal mice, pancreatic beta-galactosidase expression was restricted to vascular endothelial cells of the islet and a subset of cells in the muscularis of arteries in a distribution identical to endogenous nestin expression. Ex vivo explants of mouse pancreatic ducts grew dense cultures that costained for nestin and beta-galactosidase, demonstrating recombination in vitro. The cultures could be differentiated into complex stereotypic structures that contain nestin- and insulin-expressing cells. Nestin-cre(+/tg);R26R(loxP/+)-derived duct cultures showed that insulin-positive cells were negative for beta-galactosidase. These results indicate that both in vivo and in vitro pancreatic endocrine cells arise independently of nestin-positive precursors. The apparent vascular nature of the nestin-positive cell population and the close association with endocrine cells suggest that nestin-positive cells play an important role in the growth and maintenance of the islet.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn / Q000378:metabolism; D001158:Arteries / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D001808:Blood Vessels / Q000166:cytology*; D002460:Cell Line; D004730:Endothelium, Vascular / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D007328:Insulin / Q000378:metabolism; D019426:Integrases / Q000378:metabolism*; D007381:Intermediate Filament Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D007515:Islets of Langerhans / Q000098:blood supply* / Q000166:cytology / Q000196:embryology / Q000378:metabolism*; D008648:Mesoderm / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D008833:Microcirculation; D009131:Muscle, Smooth, Vascular / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D032389:Myocytes, Smooth Muscle / Q000378:metabolism; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; D064231:Nestin; D010183:Pancreatic Ducts / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D011506:Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D022661:RNA, Untranslated; D014764:Viral Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D001616:beta-Galactosidase / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: C110853:Gt(ROSA)26Sor non-coding RNA, mouse; D007328:Insulin; D007381:Intermediate Filament Proteins; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; C577485:Nes protein, mouse; D064231:Nestin; D011506:Proteins; D022661:RNA, Untranslated; D014764:Viral Proteins; C045073:Cre recombinase; D019426:Integrases; D001616:beta-Galactosidase