Fig. 4.
Reduced β-cell mass and altered islet morphology in Tg RIP1-PolγExo(−) mice. A: islet morphology is disordered in male and female RIP1-PolγExo(−) as determined by hematoxylin and eosin staining on pancreatic sections harvested from 6-wk-old mice. There is no evidence of islet inflammation, but islets identified in Tg female mice are ∼50% smaller than littermate control mice. Islets identified in pancreatic sections prepared from male Tg mice contain disorganized borders and are smaller than controls. B and C: disorganized structure is consistent with (B) reduced islet numbers/section and (C) insulin content in male Tg mice. Female Tg mice have similar number of islets/section; however, total insulin content is reduced by 50%, consistent with the smaller size of the islets. All data were obtained with 6-wk-old wild-type and RIP1-PolγExo(−) mice. Images are represent 6 mice/group, and quantification of islet number is presented as means ± SE of 6 sections/pancreas from 6 mice/group. Insulin content was determined from 9–12 pancreata per group and is expressed as means ± SE (females, P < 0.0001; males, P < 0.0001).