Exocrine Cells (exocrine + cell)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Sdmg1 is a component of secretory granules in mouse secretory exocrine tissues

DEVELOPMENTAL DYNAMICS, Issue 1 2009
Diana Best
Abstract Sdmg1 is a conserved eukaryotic transmembrane protein that is mainly expressed in the gonads where it may have a role in mediating signaling between somatic cells and germ cells. In this study we demonstrate that secretory exocrine cells in the pancreas, salivary gland, and mammary gland also express Sdmg1. Furthermore, we show that Sdmg1 expression is up-regulated during pancreas development when regulated secretory granules start to appear, and that Sdmg1 colocalizes with secretory granule markers in adult pancreatic acinar cells. In addition, we show that Sdmg1 co-purifies with secretory granules during subcellular fractionation of the pancreas and that Sdmg1 and the secretory granule marker Vamp2 are localized to distinct subdomains in the secretory granule membrane. These data suggest that Sdmg1 is a component of regulated secretory granules in exocrine secretory cells and that the developmental regulation of Sdmg1 expression is related to a role for Sdmg1 in post-Golgi membrane trafficking. Developmental Dynamics 238:223,231, 2009. © 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]


Nestin expression in pancreatic endocrine and exocrine cells of mice lacking glucagon signaling

DEVELOPMENTAL DYNAMICS, Issue 4 2007
Mamdouh H. Kedees
Abstract Nestin, a marker of neural stem cells, is also expressed by cells located in the epithelium of the pancreatic primordium and by a subpopulation of exocrine cells but not by endocrine cells. These findings raised the possibility that the pancreatic epithelium is heterogeneous and comprised of subpopulations of exocrine/nestin-positive and endocrine/nestin-negative precursor cells. We examined this issue in two mutant mouse models characterized by protracted expression of several embryonal properties in islet cells. One mutant line comprises mice lacking mature glucagon due to abrogation of proprotein convertase-2 (PC2,/,), responsible for the conversion of proglucagon into glucagon, while the second line consists of mice with a global deletion of the glucagon receptor (Gcgr,/,). We demonstrate that nestin is transiently expressed by acinar cells and by insulin and glucagon cells of islets of both lines of mice. In addition, the lack of glucagon signaling increased nestin mRNA levels in pancreas of mutant embryos and adult mice. We conclude that nestin+ cells located in the pancreatic primordium generate the cells of the endocrine and exocrine lineages. Furthermore, our results suggest that nestin expression is regulated by glucagon signaling. Developmental Dynamics 236:1126,1133, 2007. © 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]


Plasticity in the adult rat pancreas: Transdifferentiation of exocrine to hepatocyte-like cells in primary culture

HEPATOLOGY, Issue 6 2004
Jessy Lardon
Under certain experimental conditions, hepatocytes can arise in the pancreas. It has been suggested that the pancreas retains a source of hepatocyte progenitor cells. However, such cells have not been yet identified in the adult pancreas. We describe here the transdifferentiation of primary rat pancreatic exocrine cells into hepatocyte-like cells during 5 days of tissue culture in the presence of dexamethasone (DX). Using reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction and immunocytochemistry, it was observed that DX treatment induced albumin RNA and protein expression in the cells. Coexpression of albumin and amylase, and the absence of cell proliferation, demonstrated a direct transdifferentiation of acinar cells to hepatocytic cells. CCAAT enhancer-binding protein-ß protein, a liver-enriched transcription factor that is considered to be the master switch in pancreatohepatic transdifferentiation, and ,-fetoprotein were markedly upregulated in the cells after treatment with DX. We compared transcriptional profiles of freshly isolated exocrine cells and DX-treated cells using oligonucleotide microarrays and found that multiple liver-specific genes are induced along with albumin, and that certain pancreatic genes are downregulated in the DX-treated cells. In conclusion, these observations support the notion of plasticity in the adult pancreas and that exocrine cells can be reprogrammed to transdifferentiate into other cell types such as hepatocytes. (HEPATOLOGY 2004;39:1499,1507.) [source]


Estimating the number of complex particles using the ConnEulor principle

JOURNAL OF MICROSCOPY, Issue 3 2001
J. P. Kroustrup
An unbiased counting rule for the number of topologically simple objects of any shape, size and distribution in 3D space is a pertinent problem in stereology. Combining the disector principle with the object's 3D Euler number makes possible number estimation, which until now has been obtainable only by exhaustive serial sections. The disector is a set of two sections where the object's profiles in one section are compared with its profiles on the neighbouring section, and the number of new 2D topological events is recorded. In a disector of known volume the sum of topological events is a direct estimate of the disector contribution to the total Euler number, which forms the basis for an ultimate number estimator in 3D, the ConnEulor. The method is illustrated by an electron microscopic study of the number of mitochondria in the exocrine cells of the pancreas. [source]


Effects of sublethal levels of tributyltin chloride on a new toxicity test organism, Liza saliens (osteichthyes, mugilidae): a histological study

APPLIED ORGANOMETALLIC CHEMISTRY, Issue 6 2006
P. D'Agati
Abstract The histopathological effects of 10,7 and 10,9M tributyltin(IV)chloride,TBTCl, solutions on different Liza saliens organs have been studied by light microscope. The fish were sacrificed after 3,4 h incubation in 10,7M TBTCl solution or after 15 days incubation in 10,9M solution. The observed histopathological changes were dose- and time-dependent. The 10,7M TBTCl concentration resulted in major damage to the gill epithelium, indicating that TBTCl primarily interfered with the respiration, osmoregulation, acid balance and nitrogenous waste excretion processes. After incubation in 10,9M TBTCl solution the fish lived 20 or more days, but many of the organs were altered. Thymus atrophy, reduced spleen and altered head kidney were observed. These histological results indicated that TBTCl interfered with organ immunodefense and altered main metabolic pathways in Liza saliens. The presence of melano-macrophage centers, only in TBT-treated liver and spleen, can be considered a tool to facilitate, with other biomarkers, the detection of alterations by toxicants. Regarding the pancreas activity in 10,7M solutions, it has been noted that, in the exocrine cells, very few zymogen granules were still present and the Langerhans islets were more altered. In 10,9M solution the exocrine pancreatic cells had no granules and the islet cells presented degenerative alterations. In addition, TBTCl, which altered the pancreas and gonad morphology, could again be considered an endocrine disrupter even if biochemical data are still necessary. Finally, the Liza saliens juveniles could be considered an interesting biological model for experiments with contaminants, due to their ease of adaptation to experimental conditions and food chain position. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]