Figure - PMC

Skip to main content

An official website of the United States government

Here's how you know

Here's how you know

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( ) or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

View full-text article in PMC

. 2020 Mar 20;69(7):1439–1450. doi: 10.2337/db19-1034

Search in PMC
Search in PubMed
View in NLM Catalog
Add to search

© 2020 by the American Diabetes Association

Readers may use this article as long as the work is properly cited, the use is educational and not for profit, and the work is not altered. More information is available at https://www.diabetesjournals.org/content/license.

PMC Copyright notice

Integrated islet capillaries with those in the exocrine pancreas in human islets. A: 3D analysis of a human islet from a 24-year-old male. (a) A 3D-rendered view of a human islet integrated in the pancreatic capillary network. Islet (HPi1, a human pan-endocrine cell marker in cyan), blood vessels (CD31 in red), and an afferent arteriole (α-SMA in yellow). Scale bar: 50 μm. (b) Blood vessels only, displaying the continuity of capillaries in the islet as well as exocrine tissue. (c) Close-up view of (a), with capillaries showing diverse routes of blood flow around the islet and one large afferent arteriole (yellow). Scale bar: 30 μm. (d) The aforementioned feeding arteriole penetrating the center of the islet. (e) Vasculature partially made transparent. (f) Islet made partially transparent without surrounding capillaries. The diverse routes of blood flow observed here within the islet contradict previous models of islet microcirculation. Scale bar: 50 μm. (g–j) Anticlockwise front to back rotation of the islet. The islet is embedded in the larger pancreatic vascular network. Scale bar: 50 μm. (k) Back view. (l) Islet made transparent. (m) Islet made transparent without capillaries, with feeding arteriole penetrating deep into the center of the islet. (n) Capillaries only. Note the continuity of the capillaries regardless of the islet border. (o) Close-up view of the interface of capillaries entering and exiting the islet. Scale bar: 20 μm. B: (a) Islet from a 46-year-old female. (b) Islet made transparent. (c) β-Cells only showing openings for capillary entry/exit. (d) Capillaries only. (e and f) Back view. Scale bar: 30 μm. C: Islet from a 57-year-old male. Scale bar: (a–c) 40 μm; (d–f) 30 μm. D: Islet from a 16-year-old female. Scale bar: 30 μm. E: (a) A cluster of four islets from a 24-year-old male. (b) Islet made transparent. (c) Islets. (d) Capillaries. Scale bar: 50 μm. (e–g) Islets in the lower left. Scale bar: 20 μm. (h–j). Islets in the upper left. Scale bar: 30 μm. See also Supplementary Video 16.