title: Reporter islets in the eye reveal the plasticity of the endocrine pancreas.
abstract: The islets of Langerhans constitute the endocrine part of the pancreas and are responsible for maintenance of blood glucose homeostasis. They are deeply embedded in the exocrine pancreas, limiting their accessibility for functional studies. Understanding regulation of function and survival and assessing the clinical outcomes of individual treatment strategies for diabetes requires a monitoring system that continuously reports on the endocrine pancreas. We describe the application of a natural body window that successfully reports on the properties of in situ pancreatic islets. As proof of principle, we transplanted "reporter islets" into the anterior chamber of the eye of leptin-deficient mice. These islets displayed obesity-induced growth and vascularization patterns that were reversed by leptin treatment. Hence, reporter islets serve as optically accessible indicators of islet function in the pancreas, and also reflect the efficacy of specific treatment regimens aimed at regulating islet plasticity in vivo.
authors.affiliation: The Rolf Luft Research Center for Diabetes and Endocrinology, Karolinska Institutet, Karolinska University Hospital L1, Stockholm SE-171 76, Sweden.
authors.forename: Erwin
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ilegems
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dicker
authors.forename: Stephan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Speier
authors.forename: Aarti
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sharma
authors.forename: Alan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bahow
authors.forename: Patrick Karlsson
authors.initials: PK
authors.lastname: Edlund
authors.forename: Ingo B
authors.initials: IB
authors.lastname: Leibiger
authors.forename: Per-Olof
authors.initials: PO
authors.lastname: Berggren
mesh_terms: D064591:Allografts; D000818:Animals; D005123:Eye / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D007515:Islets of Langerhans / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D016381:Islets of Langerhans Transplantation; D020738:Leptin / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D051379:Mice; D008820:Mice, Obese
chemical_list: D020738:Leptin
keywords: beta cell mass; in vivo imaging; islet grafts; ob/ob mouse; pharmacologic treatment