title: The anterior chamber of the eye is a transplantation site that supports and enables visualisation of beta cell development in mice.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  In vivo imaging of the developing pancreas is challenging due to the inaccessibility of the tissue. To circumvent this, on embryonic day 10.5 (E10.5) we transplanted a mouse developing pancreatic bud into the anterior chamber of the eye (ACE) to determine whether the eye is a useful transplant site to support pancreas development.
  
  
  METHODS
  We transplanted an E10.5 dorsal pancreatic bud into the ACE of a syngeneic recipient mouse. Using a mouse insulin promoter-green fluorescent protein (MIP-GFP) mouse as the tissue donor, we non-invasively imaged the pancreatic bud as it develops at single beta cell resolution across time.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The transplanted pancreatic bud rapidly engrafts and vascularises when transplanted into the ACE. The pancreatic progenitor cells differentiate into exocrine and endocrine cells, including cells expressing insulin, glucagon and somatostatin. The morphology of the transplanted pancreatic bud resembles that of the native developing pancreas. Beta cells within the transplanted pancreatic bud respond to glucose in a manner similar to that of native fetal beta cells and superior to that of in vitro developed beta cells. Unlike in vitro grown pancreatic explants, pancreatic tissue developing in the ACE is vascularised, providing the developing pancreatic tissue with a milieu resembling the native situation.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Altogether, we show that the ACE is able to support growth, differentiation and function of a developing pancreatic bud across time in vivo.
authors: The Rolf Luft Research Center for Diabetes and Endocrinology, Karolinska Institutet, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden. yusuf.ali@ntu.edu.sg.|Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University, 59 Nanyang Drive, Singapore, 636 921, Republic of Singapore. yusuf.ali@ntu.edu.sg.|Singapore Eye Research Institute, The Academia, Singapore, Republic of Singapore. yusuf.ali@ntu.edu.sg.
authors: Yusuf
authors: Y
authors: Ali
authors: Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University, 59 Nanyang Drive, Singapore, 636 921, Republic of Singapore.|Singapore Eye Research Institute, The Academia, Singapore, Republic of Singapore.|Diabetes Research Institute, University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, USA.
authors: Juan
authors: J
authors: Diez
authors: The Rolf Luft Research Center for Diabetes and Endocrinology, Karolinska Institutet, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors: Lars
authors: L
authors: Selander
authors: Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University, 59 Nanyang Drive, Singapore, 636 921, Republic of Singapore.|Singapore Eye Research Institute, The Academia, Singapore, Republic of Singapore.
authors: Xiaofeng
authors: X
authors: Zheng
authors: Diabetes Research Institute, University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, USA.|Umeå Center for Molecular Medicine, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden.
authors: Helena
authors: H
authors: Edlund
authors: The Rolf Luft Research Center for Diabetes and Endocrinology, Karolinska Institutet, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden.|Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University, 59 Nanyang Drive, Singapore, 636 921, Republic of Singapore.|Singapore Eye Research Institute, The Academia, Singapore, Republic of Singapore.|Diabetes Research Institute, University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, USA.
authors: Per-Olof
authors: PO
authors: Berggren
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000867:Anterior Chamber / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D007328:Insulin / Q000378:metabolism; D050417:Insulin-Secreting Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D007515:Islets of Langerhans / Q000196:embryology*; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D010179:Pancreas / Q000196:embryology*; D011247:Pregnancy
chemical_list: D007328:Insulin
keywords: Beta cells; Eye transplantation; In vivo imaging; Pancreas development; Pancreatic islets