Variations in Rodent Models of Type 1 Diabetes: Islet Morphology
Figure 2
Islet size and composition in BBDR rats. (a) Immunofluorescence staining of an islet from a control animal with a β-cell core (anti-insulin; green staining), surrounded by α-cells (antiglucagon; red), and δ-cells (antisomatostatin; blue). Scale bar = 100 μm. (b) Same staining protocol used on an islet from a diabetic animal (scale the same). (c) Islet diameter decreased in animals with diabetes (* = ). (d) This decrease was not due to cell atrophy but to a loss in the number of cells (* = ). (e) The cell composition, as measured by the percentage of endocrine cells, was dramatically different for the 2 groups. Islets of control animals were predominantly β-cells, while diabetic animals’ islets were predominantly α-cells (). (f) The change in cell composition was due to a decrease in the actual number of β-cells and a simultaneous increase in the number of α-cells and δ-cells (* = ; # = ). islets from 3 control animals and 79 islets from 3 diabetic rats for all graphs.
