scholarly journals Glucose-dependent blood flow dynamics in murine pancreatic islets in vivo

2010 ◽  
Vol 298 (4) ◽  
pp. E807-E814 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lara R. Nyman ◽  
Eric Ford ◽  
Alvin C. Powers ◽  
David W. Piston

Pancreatic islets are highly vascularized and arranged so that regions containing β-cells are distinct from those containing other cell types. Although islet blood flow has been studied extensively, little is known about the dynamics of islet blood flow during hypoglycemia or hyperglycemia. To investigate changes in islet blood flow as a function of blood glucose level, we clamped blood glucose sequentially at hyperglycemic (∼300 mg/dl or 16.8 mM) and hypoglycemic (∼50 mg/dl or 2.8 mM) levels while simultaneously imaging intraislet blood flow in mouse models that express green fluorescent protein in the β-cells or yellow fluorescent protein in the α-cells. Using line scanning confocal microscopy, in vivo blood flow was assayed after intravenous injection of fluorescent dextran or sulforhodamine-labeled red blood cells. Regardless of the sequence of hypoglycemia and hyperglycemia, islet blood flow is faster during hyperglycemia, and apparent blood volume is greater during hyperglycemia than during hypoglycemia. However, there is no change in the order of perfusion of different islet endocrine cell types in hypoglycemia compared with hyperglycemia, with the islet core of β-cells usually perfused first. In contrast to the results in islets, there was no significant difference in flow rate in the exocrine pancreas during hyperglycemia compared with hypoglycemia. These results indicate that glucose differentially regulates blood flow in the pancreatic islet vasculature independently of blood flow in the rest of the pancreas.

1997 ◽  
Vol 273 (2) ◽  
pp. E376-E382 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Enghofer ◽  
K. H. Usadel ◽  
O. Beck ◽  
K. Kusterer

Intravenous administration of streptozotocin (STZ) leads to permanent diabetes mellitus in rats. We investigated the possible role of islet microcirculatory changes and free radical formation in this animal model. In vivo fluorescence microscopy was performed for 4 h after administration of STZ. Vascular permeability, capillary blood flow, and endothelial leukocyte adhesion were measured in endocrine and exocrine pancreatic tissue. The earliest microcirculatory event was an increase in vascular permeability in pancreatic islets, with a peak 1 h after STZ administration. The difference between islet and exocrine tissue light intensity was +15.8 +/- 5.6% at t = 60 min. Islet blood flow velocity significantly decreased after 3 h, whereas blood flow in the exocrine pancreas was not affected. Complete stasis of islet blood flow was observed only in rats receiving STZ. Neither increased leukocyte adhesion to islet vascular endothelium nor ischemia-reperfusion phenomena were observed. Prophylactic administration of the radical scavenger superoxide dismutase prevented STZ-induced damage to the islet microcirculation in the initial phase of this model. We conclude that STZ leads to severe microcirculatory disturbances within pancreatic islets in rats. Apparently, these changes are mediated at least in part by free oxygen radicals.


2007 ◽  
Vol 292 (4) ◽  
pp. E1183-E1190 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cecilia Annerén ◽  
Michael Welsh ◽  
Leif Jansson

The FRK tyrosine kinase has previously been shown to transduce β-cell cytotoxic signals in response to cytokines and streptozotocin and to promote β-cell proliferation and an increased β-cell mass. We therefore aimed to further evaluate the effects of overexpression of FRK tyrosine kinase in β-cells. A transgenic mouse expressing kinase-active FRK under control of the insulin promoter (RIP-FRK) was studied with regard to islet endocrine function and vascular morphology. Mild glucose intolerance develops in RIP-FRK male mice of at least 4 mo of age. This effect is accompanied by reduced glucose-stimulated insulin secretion in vivo and reduced second-phase insulin secretion in response to glucose and arginine upon pancreas perfusion. Islets isolated from the FRK transgenic mice display a glucose-induced insulin secretory response in vitro similar to that of control islets. However, islet blood flow per islet volume is decreased in the FRK transgenic mice. These mice also exhibit a reduced islet capillary lumen diameter as shown by electron microscopy. Total body weight and pancreas weight are not significantly affected, but the β-cell mass is increased. The data suggest that long-term expression of active FRK in β-cells causes an in vivo insulin-secretory defect, which may be the consequence of islet vascular abnormalities that yield a decreased islet blood flow.


2017 ◽  
Vol 233 (3) ◽  
pp. 217-227 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maaike M Roefs ◽  
Françoise Carlotti ◽  
Katherine Jones ◽  
Hannah Wills ◽  
Alexander Hamilton ◽  
...  

Type 2 diabetes (T2DM) is associated with pancreatic islet dysfunction. Loss of β-cell identity has been implicated via dedifferentiation or conversion to other pancreatic endocrine cell types. How these transitions contribute to the onset and progression of T2DM in vivo is unknown. The aims of this study were to determine the degree of epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition occurring in α and β cells in vivo and to relate this to diabetes-associated (patho)physiological conditions. The proportion of islet cells expressing the mesenchymal marker vimentin was determined by immunohistochemistry and quantitative morphometry in specimens of pancreas from human donors with T2DM (n = 28) and without diabetes (ND, n = 38) and in non-human primates at different stages of the diabetic syndrome: normoglycaemic (ND, n = 4), obese, hyperinsulinaemic (HI, n = 4) and hyperglycaemic (DM, n = 8). Vimentin co-localised more frequently with glucagon (α-cells) than with insulin (β-cells) in the human ND group (1.43% total α-cells, 0.98% total β-cells, median; P < 0.05); these proportions were higher in T2DM than ND (median 4.53% α-, 2.53% β-cells; P < 0.05). Vimentin-positive β-cells were not apoptotic, had reduced expression of Nkx6.1 and Pdx1, and were not associated with islet amyloidosis or with bihormonal expression (insulin + glucagon). In non-human primates, vimentin-positive β-cell proportion was larger in the diabetic than the ND group (6.85 vs 0.50%, medians respectively, P < 0.05), but was similar in ND and HI groups. In conclusion, islet cell expression of vimentin indicates a degree of plasticity and dedifferentiation with potential loss of cellular identity in diabetes. This could contribute to α- and β-cell dysfunction in T2DM.


2008 ◽  
Vol 294 (2) ◽  
pp. H699-H707 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ellen Steward Pentz ◽  
Maria Luisa S. Sequeira Lopez ◽  
Magali Cordaillat ◽  
R. Ariel Gomez

The renin-angiotensin system (RAS) regulates blood pressure and fluid-electrolyte homeostasis. A key step in the RAS cascade is the regulation of renin synthesis and release by the kidney. We and others have shown that a major mechanism to control renin availability is the regulation of the number of cells capable of making renin. The kidney possesses a pool of cells, mainly in its vasculature but also in the glomeruli, capable of switching from smooth muscle to endocrine renin-producing cells when homeostasis is threatened. The molecular mechanisms governing the ability of these cells to turn the renin phenotype on and off have been very difficult to study in vivo. We, therefore, developed an in vitro model in which cells of the renin lineage are labeled with cyan fluorescent protein and cells actively making renin mRNA are labeled with yellow fluorescent protein. The model allowed us to determine that it is possible to culture cells of the renin lineage for numerous passages and that the memory to express the renin gene is maintained in culture and can be reenacted by cAMP and chromatin remodeling (histone H4 acetylation) at the cAMP-responsive element in the renin gene.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giovanni Gallo ◽  
Ioannis Mougiakos ◽  
Mauricio Bianco ◽  
Miriam Carbonaro ◽  
Andrea Carpentieri ◽  
...  

Arsenic detoxification systems can be found in a wide range of organisms, from bacteria to man. In a previous study, we discovered an arsenic-responsive transcriptional regulator in the thermophilic bacterium Thermus thermophilus HB27 (TtSmtB). Here, we characterize the arsenic resistance system of T. thermophilus in more detail. We employed TtSmtB-based pull-down assays with protein extracts from cultures treated with arsenate and arsenite to obtain an S-adenosylmethionine (SAM)-dependent arsenite methyltransferase (TtArsM). In vivo and in vitro analyses were performed to shed light on this new component of the arsenic resistance network and its peculiar catalytic mechanism. Heterologous expression of TtarsM in Escherichia coli resulted in arsenite detoxification at mesophilic temperatures. Although TtArsM does not contain a canonical arsenite binding site, the purified protein does catalyse SAM-dependent arsenite methylation. In addition, in vitro analyses confirmed the unique interaction between TtArsM and TtSmtB. Next, a highly efficient ThermoCas9-based genome-editing tool was developed to delete the TtArsM-encoding gene on the T. thermophilus genome, and to confirm its involvement in the arsenite detoxification system. Finally, the TtarsX efflux pump gene in the T. thermophilus ΔTtarsM genome was substituted by a gene, encoding a stabilised yellow fluorescent protein (sYFP), to create a sensitive genome-based bioreporter system for the detection of arsenic ions.


2005 ◽  
Vol 98 (6) ◽  
pp. 2311-2315 ◽  
Author(s):  
Louise H. Naylor ◽  
Cara J. Weisbrod ◽  
Gerry O'Driscoll ◽  
Daniel J. Green

The purpose of this study was to establish valid indexes of conduit and resistance vessel structure in humans by using edge detection and wall tracking of high-resolution B-mode arterial ultrasound images, combined with synchronized Doppler waveform envelope analysis, to calculate conduit artery blood flow and diameter continuously across the cardiac cycle. Nine subjects aged 36.7 (9.2) yr underwent, on separate days, assessment of brachial artery blood flow and diameter response to 5-, 10-, and 15-min periods of forearm ischemia in the presence and absence of combined sublingual glyceryl trinitrate (GTN) administration. Two further sessions examined responses to ischemic exercise, one in combination with GTN. The peak brachial artery diameter was observed in response to the combination of ischemic exercise and GTN; a significant difference existed between resting brachial artery diameter and peak brachial artery diameter, indicating that resting diameter may be a poor measure of conduit vessel structure in vivo. Peak brachial artery flow was also observed in response to a combination of forearm ischemia exercise and GTN administration, the response being greater than that induced by periods of ischemia, GTN, or ischemic exercise alone. These data indicate that noninvasive indexes of conduit and resistance vessel structure can be simultaneously determined in vivo in response to a single, brief, stimulus and that caution should be applied in using resting arterial diameter as a surrogate measure of conduit artery structure in vivo.


2016 ◽  
Vol 311 (5) ◽  
pp. F901-F906 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francesco Trepiccione ◽  
Christelle Soukaseum ◽  
Anna Iervolino ◽  
Federica Petrillo ◽  
Miriam Zacchia ◽  
...  

The distal nephron is a heterogeneous part of the nephron composed by six different cell types, forming the epithelium of the distal convoluted (DCT), connecting, and collecting duct. To dissect the function of these cells, knockout models specific for their unique cell marker have been created. However, since this part of the nephron develops at the border between the ureteric bud and the metanephric mesenchyme, the specificity of the single cell markers has been recently questioned. Here, by mapping the fate of the aquaporin 2 (AQP2) and Na+-Cl−cotransporter (NCC)-positive cells using transgenic mouse lines expressing the yellow fluorescent protein fluorescent marker, we showed that the origin of the distal nephron is extremely composite. Indeed, AQP2-expressing precursor results give rise not only to the principal cells, but also to some of the A- and B-type intercalated cells and even to cells of the DCT. On the other hand, some principal cells and B-type intercalated cells can develop from NCC-expressing precursors. In conclusion, these results demonstrate that the origin of different cell types in the distal nephron is not as clearly defined as originally thought. Importantly, they highlight the fact that knocking out a gene encoding for a selective functional marker in the adult does not guarantee cell specificity during the overall kidney development. Tools allowing not only cell-specific but also time-controlled recombination will be useful in this sense.


2007 ◽  
Vol 292 (6) ◽  
pp. E1616-E1623 ◽  
Author(s):  
En Yin Lai ◽  
A. Erik G. Persson ◽  
Birgitta Bodin ◽  
Örjan Källskog ◽  
Arne Andersson ◽  
...  

Endothelin-1 (ET-1) is a potent endothelium-derived vasoconstrictor, which also stimulates insulin release. The aim of the present study was to evaluate whether exogenously administered ET-1 affected pancreatic islet blood flow in vivo in rats and the islet arteriolar reactivity in vitro in mice. Furthermore, we aimed to determine the ET-receptor subtype that was involved in such responses. When applying a microsphere technique for measurements of islet blood perfusion in vivo, we found that ET-1 (5 nmol/kg) consistently and markedly decreased total pancreatic and especially islet blood flow, despite having only minor effects on blood pressure. Neither endothelin A (ETA) receptor (BQ-123) nor endothelin-B (ETB) receptor (BQ-788) antagonists, alone or in combination, could prevent this reduction in blood flow. To avoid confounding interactions in vivo, we also examined the arteriolar vascular reactivity in isolated, perfused mouse islets. In the latter preparation, we demonstrated a dose-dependent constriction in response to ET-1. Administration of BQ-123 prevented this, whereas BQ-788 induced a right shift in the response. In conclusion, the pancreatic islet vasculature is highly sensitive to exogenous ET-1, which mediates its effect mainly through ETA receptors.


2011 ◽  
Vol 100 (3) ◽  
pp. 619a
Author(s):  
Kurt W. Short ◽  
W. Steve Head ◽  
Michael McCaughey ◽  
David W. Piston

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