Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor Signaling Regulates ß Cell Proliferation in Adult Mice.

A thorough understanding of the signaling pathways involved in the regulation of ß cell proliferation is an important initial step in restoring ß cell mass in the diabetic patient. Here, we show that epidermal growth factor receptor 1 (EGFR) was significantly up-regulated in the islets of C57BL/6 mice after 50% partial pancreatectomy (PPx), a model for workload-induced ß cell proliferation. Specific deletion of EGFR in the ß cells of adult mice impaired ß cell proliferation at baseline and after 50% PPx, suggesting that the EGFR signaling pathway plays an essential role in adult ß cell proliferation. Further analyses showed that ß cell-specific depletion of EGFR resulted in impaired expression of cyclin D1 and impaired suppression of p27 after PPx, both of which enhance ß cell proliferation. These data highlight the importance of EGFR signaling and its downstream signaling cascade in postnatal ß cell growth.

PNA lectin for purifying mouse acinar cells from the inflamed pancreas.

Better methods for purifying human or mouse acinar cells without the need for genetic modification are needed. Such techniques would be advantageous for the specific study of certain mechanisms, such as acinar-to-beta-cell reprogramming and pancreatitis. Ulex Europaeus Agglutinin I (UEA-I) lectin has been used to label and isolate acinar cells from the pancreas. However, the purity of the UEA-I-positive cell fraction has not been fully evaluated. Here, we screened 20 widely used lectins for their binding specificity for major pancreatic cell types, and found that UEA-I and Peanut agglutinin (PNA) have a specific affinity for acinar cells in the mouse pancreas, with minimal affinity for other major pancreatic cell types including endocrine cells, duct cells and endothelial cells. Moreover, PNA-purified acinar cells were less contaminated with mesenchymal and inflammatory cells, compared to UEA-I purified acinar cells. Thus, UEA-I and PNA appear to be excellent lectins for pancreatic acinar cell purification. PNA may be a better choice in situations where mesenchymal cells or inflammatory cells are significantly increased in the pancreas, such as type 1 diabetes, pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer.