No abstract available.
Endocrine Cells* ; Immunohistochemistry* ; Sciuridae*

No abstract available.
Aging* ; Endocrine Cells* ; Neurons*

No abstract available.
Endocrine Cells* ; Gastrointestinal Tract*

No abstract available.
Endocrine Cells* ; Fetus* ; Humans* ; Immunohistochemistry*

No abstract available.
Endocrine Cells* ; Gastrointestinal Tract* ; Goats*

Exocytosis in various secretory cells is regulated by Ca2+ signaling. In this minireview, I will introduce our recent approach, which we have termed comparative biology of exocytosis, to the study of Ca2+-dependent secretion in such cells. In this approach, we quantify and compare the secretory process in different cell types (neurons, endocrine cells, and exocrine cells, with the same techniques. This approach benefits from the fact that the biochemistry and ultrastructure of these cells are relatively well characterized and it is expected to be particularly revealing because of the marked differences in the properties of exocytosis thought to exist among different secretory cells. The first part of this article deals with the mechanism by which Ca2+ signaling regulates exocytosis in exocrine cells, and the second part deals more generally with the diversity in the kinetics of the exocytotic machinery among different types of cells and secretory vesicles.
Biochemistry ; Biology ; Endocrine Cells ; Exocytosis* ; Kinetics ; Secretory Pathway ; Secretory Vesicles

Nesidioblastosis is a rare disorder, and it usually considered as a cause of neonatal hyperinsulinemic hypoglycemia. A 35 year-old-woman with hyperinsulinemic hypoglycemia was admitted in an unconscious condition. Abdominal CT, pancreas MRI and celiac angiography with an intra-arterial calcium stimulation test revealed a suspicious insulin-producing tumorous lesion in the head of pancreas. The patient underwent enucleation of the pancreas head tumor under the initial diagnosis of insulinoma. However, the tumor was confirmed histologically as nesidioblastosis that showed ductoendocrine proliferations and numerous small endocrine cell groups. Nesidioblastosis is classified into a focal type and a diffuse type, which are characterized by different clinical outcomes. The patient in our case showed a normal blood glucose level after operation, which is often the case for the focal type. Herein, we report this very rare case of adult nesiodioblastosis that was successfully treated by surgical resection.
Adult ; Angiography ; Blood Glucose ; Calcium ; Endocrine Cells ; Head ; Humans ; Hyperinsulinism ; Hypoglycemia ; Insulinoma ; Nesidioblastosis ; Pancreas ; Unconscious (Psychology)

Pathological proliferation of Brgnners gland is rare, and its wide range of morphologieal variations have led to confusing the terminology with considerable lack of agreement. Six cases of duodenal nodular lesions which consisted of pathological proliferation of Brunners glands were examined by light microscopy. Polypectomy was made in two cases, and the remaining 4 cases were examined with endoscopic biopsy materials. Two polypectomy specimens, 2 cm and 3 cm each in great diameters, consisted of protruded ovoid mass with broad and short stalks. Microacopically, all of 6 cases revealed thin strands of fibrous connective tissue which separated the normal-looking Brunners glands in lobules. Individual lobules were composed of groups of acini formed by cuboidal cells admixed with occasional endocrine cells. Presence of glandular and ductal configuration of the Brunners gland aside from thick, randomly arranged bundles of smooth muscle were featured without distinct relation to interlobular septa. Also, one polypectomy case disclosed the nests of fat cells interspersed with the glandular acini. One mucosal biopsy case contained not only the smooth muscle bands but also the intimate mixture of both acini and ducts. We conclude that some of heterogeneous composition of duodenal nodular proliferation of Brunners gland is indicative of a hamartomatous growth.
Adipocytes ; Biopsy ; Brunner Glands ; Connective Tissue ; Duodenum ; Endocrine Cells ; Hamartoma* ; Microscopy ; Muscle, Smooth ; Pathology

BACKGROUND: In vitro experiments using only beta-cell lines instead of islets are limited because pancreatic islets are composed of four different types of endocrine cells. Several recent studies have focused on cellular interactions among these cell types, especially alpha- and beta-cells. Because islet isolation needs time and experience, we tested a simple co-culture system with alpha- and beta-cells. Their morphology and function were assessed by comparison to each single cell culture and pancreatic islets. METHODS: alpha TC-6 cells and beta TC-1 cells were maintained in Dulbecco's Minimal Essential Medium containing 5 mM glucose and 10% fetal bovine serum. Cells were mixed at a 1:1 ratio (5x10(5)) in 6-well plates and cultured for 24, 48, and 72 hours. After culture, cells were used for insulin and glucagon immunoassays and tested for glucose-stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS). RESULTS: alpha TC-6 and beta TC-1 cells became condensed by 24 hours and were more strongly compacted after 48 hours. beta TC-1 cells showed both beta-beta and beta-alpha cell contacts. GSIS increased with increasing glucose concentration in co-cultured cells, which showed lower secreted insulin levels than beta TC-1 cells alone. The increase in the secreted insulin/insulin content ratio was significantly lower for co-cultured cells than for beta-cells alone (P=0.04). Compared to islets, the alpha-/beta-cell co-culture showed a higher ratio of GSIS to insulin content, but the difference was not statistically significant (P=0.09). CONCLUSION: alpha TC-6 and beta TC-1 cells in the co-culture system showed cell-to-cell contacts and a similar stimulated insulin secretion pattern to islets. The co-culture system may be used to better mimic pancreatic islets in in vitro assessments.
Cell Culture Techniques ; Coculture Techniques* ; Endocrine Cells ; Glucagon ; Glucose ; Immunoassay ; Insulin ; Islets of Langerhans

A total of 53 gastric adenomas from endoscopically biopsied gastric mucosa were examined histopathologically. The average age at the time of endoscopic biopsy was 59 years, and gastric adenomas were found to be more frequent in the aged, particularly above the age of 50. The majority of adenomas occurred at the antrum. Concerning the shape of the adenomas, Yamada type II was more frequent (55%). All adenomas were accompanied by varying degree of intestinal metaplasia, and this findings suggest that gastric adenoma develops from intestinal metaplasia. In adenomas with severe atypia (grade III), endocrine cells (argyrophil and argentaffin cells) were markedly decreased or absent. Gastric adenocarcinomas coexistent with adenoma were seen in 5 (9.4%) out of 53 cases, and were more frequent in male than female patients (sex ratio, 4:1) and the average age was 61.4 years. It is suggested that there is a necessity of thorough follow-up study for definitive correlation between gastric adenoma and adenocarcinoma.
Adenocarcinoma ; Adenoma* ; Biopsy ; Endocrine Cells ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Gastric Mucosa ; Humans ; Male ; Metaplasia ; Stomach