Aims/hypothesis: It has been proposed that the neuro-insular network enables rapid, synchronised insulin secretion. However, to date, acquiring the pancreatic tissue map to study the neural network remains a challenging task as there is a lack of feasible approaches for large-scale tissue analysis at the organ level. Here, we have developed 3-dimensional (3D) panoramic histology to characterise the pancreatic neuro-insular network in young mice.
Methods: Pancreases harvested from young wild-type B6 mice (3 and 8 weeks old) and db/db mice (3 weeks old; db/db vs db/+) were used to develop 3D panoramic histology. Transparent pancreases were prepared by optical clearing to enable deep-tissue, tile-scanning microscopy for qualitative and quantitative analyses of islets and the pancreatic tissue network in space.
Results: 3D panoramic histology reveals the pancreatic neurovascular network and the coupling of ganglionic and islet populations via the network. This integration is identified in both 3- and 8-week-old mice, featuring the peri-arteriolar neuro-insular network and islet-ganglionic aggregation. In weaning hyperphagic db/db mice, the 3D image data identifies the associated increases in weight, adipose tissue attached to the pancreas, density of large islets (major axis > 150 μm) and pancreatic sympathetic innervation compared with db/+ mice.
Conclusions/interpretation: Our work provides insight into the neuro-insular integration at the organ level and demonstrates a new approach for investigating previously unknown details of the pancreatic tissue network in health and disease.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
|---|---|
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00125-017-4408-y | DOI Listing |
Publication Analysis
Top Keywords
Similar Publications
Pancreas-Brain Crosstalk.
Front Neuroanat
July 2021
Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, National Cheng Kung University College of Medicine, Tainan, Taiwan.
The neural regulation of glucose homeostasis in normal and challenged conditions involves the modulation of pancreatic islet-cell function. Compromising the pancreas innervation causes islet autoimmunity in type 1 diabetes and islet cell dysfunction in type 2 diabetes. However, despite the richly innervated nature of the pancreas, islet innervation remains ill-defined.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPancreas Optical Clearing and 3-D Microscopy in Health and Diabetes.
Front Endocrinol (Lausanne)
January 2022
Department of Medical Science and Institute of Biotechnology, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, Taiwan.
Although first described over a hundred years ago, tissue optical clearing is undergoing renewed interest due to numerous advances in optical clearing methods, microscopy systems, and three-dimensional (3-D) image analysis programs. These advances are advantageous for intact mouse tissues or pieces of human tissues because samples sized several millimeters can be studied. Optical clearing methods are particularly useful for studies of the neuroanatomy of the central and peripheral nervous systems and tissue vasculature or lymphatic system.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHigh Resolution 3D Imaging of the Human Pancreas Neuro-insular Network.
J Vis Exp
January 2018
Department of Pathology, Immunology and Experimental Medicine, University of Florida;
Using traditional histological methods, researchers are hampered in their ability to image whole tissues or organs in large-scale 3D. Histological sections are generally limited to <20 µm as formalin fixed paraffin section on glass slides or <500 µm for free-floating fixed sections. Therefore, extensive efforts are required for serial sectioning and large-scale image reconstruction methods to recreate 3D for samples >500 µm using traditional methods.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPancreatic neuro-insular network in young mice revealed by 3D panoramic histology.
Diabetologia
January 2018
Johns Hopkins Center for Neurogastroenterology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Aims/hypothesis: It has been proposed that the neuro-insular network enables rapid, synchronised insulin secretion. However, to date, acquiring the pancreatic tissue map to study the neural network remains a challenging task as there is a lack of feasible approaches for large-scale tissue analysis at the organ level. Here, we have developed 3-dimensional (3D) panoramic histology to characterise the pancreatic neuro-insular network in young mice.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHuman pancreatic neuro-insular network in health and fatty infiltration.
Diabetologia
January 2018
Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regeneration Medicine and Stem Cell Research, University of California at San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
Aims/hypothesis: Identification of a pancreatic neuro-insular network in mice suggests that a similar integration of islets and nerves may be present in the human pancreas. To characterise the neuro-insular network and the intra-pancreatic ganglia in a clinically related setting, we examined human pancreases in health and with fatty infiltration via 3-dimensional (3D) histology and compared the human pancreatic microenvironment with its counterpart in mice.
Methods: Human pancreatic specimens from individuals with normal BMI, high BMI (≥ 25) and type 2 diabetes were used to investigate the neuro-insular network.
Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?
Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!