1. Expression of the neural stem cell–specific marker nestin in a distinct cell population within pancreatic islets.
Expression of the neural stem cell–specific marker nestin in a distinct cell population within pancreatic islets. Dual fluorescence immunocytochemical staining of (A) an islet cluster in an E16 rat pancreas and (B) a pancreatic islet in the pancreas of an adult 60-day-old (P60) rat. Immunostaining of nestin and insulin were developed with the fluorophores Cy3 (red) and Cy2 (green), respectively. Note that there is no coexpression of nestin and insulin in the cells, which, if present, would be seen as yellow cells. Typical representative islets are shown. C: Nestin (red) and collagen IV (green), a marker of vascular endothelium, are expressed in separate cell populations in a rat pancreatic islet. D: Nestin-positive (yellow in pseudocolor) cells have a distinct nucleus (blue stain with Hoechst). E: RT-PCR of RNA prepared from islets isolated from a P60 adult rat (left) or human islet tissue (right). RT-PCR was performed using oligonucleotide amplimers to rat and human nestin mRNA giving the predicted 326- or 495-bp product of the correct size (upper panels) and confirmed by Southern blot analysis hybridized with a 32P-labeled nestin probe (lower panels) (see research design and methods). Original magnification ×200.
Henryk Zulewski et al. Diabetes 2001;50:
©2001 by American Diabetes Association