Figure 7.

Effects of [Lys¹²Pal]Ex-4/CCK on pancreatic islet morphology as well as beta-cell proliferation and apoptosis in HFF-STZ diabetic mice. (A) Islet-, (B) beta- and (C) alpha-cell areas, (D) alpha:beta ratio, (E) percentage of glucagon positive centrally stained cells as well as beta-cell (F) proliferation and (G) apoptosis were measured following 28 days twice-daily treatment with [Lys¹²Pal]Ex-4/CCK (25 nmol/kg bw, i.p). Islet morphology was assessed using Cell^F image analysis software, with beta-cell proliferation and apoptosis measured Ki-67 or TUNEL staining, respectively. (H-J) Representative islet images (x40 magnification) show (H) insulin (red) and glucagon (green), (I) insulin (red) and Ki-67 (green) or (J) insulin (red) and TUNEL (green) from each treatment group. Values are mean ± SEM for 8 mice. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01 and ***p < 0.001 compared with HFF-STZ diabetic control. ^ΔΔp < 0.01 and ^ΔΔΔp < 0.001 compared with lean control.