Pancreatic Islet Blood Flow Dynamics in Primates.

Blood flow regulation in pancreatic islets is critical for function but poorly understood. Here, we establish an in vivo imaging platform in a non-human primate where islets transplanted autologously into the anterior chamber of the eye are monitored non-invasively and longitudinally at single-cell resolution. Engrafted islets were vascularized and innervated and maintained the cytoarchitecture of in situ islets in the pancreas.

Matrix metalloproteinase 1: role in sarcoma biology.

In carcinomas stromal cells participate in cancer progression by producing proteases such as MMPs. The expression MMP1 is a prognostic factor in human chondrosarcoma, however the role in tumor progression is unknown. Laser capture microdissection and In Situ hybridization were used to determine cellular origin of MMP1 in human sarcomas.

Endocrine cell clustering during human pancreas development.

The development of efficient, reproducible protocols for directed in vitro differentiation of human embryonic stem (hES) cells into insulin-producing beta cells will benefit greatly from increased knowledge regarding the spatiotemporal expression profile of key instructive factors involved in human endocrine cell generation. Human fetal pancreases 7 to 21 weeks of gestational age, were collected following consent immediately after pregnancy termination and processed for immunostaining, in situ hybridization, and real-time RT-PCR expression analyses. Islet-like structures appear from approximately week 12 and, unlike the mixed architecture observed in adult islets, fetal islets are initially formed predominantly by aggregated insulin- or glucagon-expressing cells.