Increased and persistent circulating insulin-like growth factor II in neonatal transgenic mice suppresses developmental apoptosis in the pancreatic islets
Dj. Hill et al., Increased and persistent circulating insulin-like growth factor II in neonatal transgenic mice suppresses developmental apoptosis in the pancreatic islets, ENDOCRINOL, 141(3), 2000, pp. 1151-1157
In rats, a proportion of pancreatic beta-cells are deleted by apoptosis in
the second week of postnatal life and replaced by endocrine cell neogenesis
from pancreatic ductal epithelium. This coincides with a reduction in panc
reatic insulin-like growth factor II (IGF-II) expression, and IGF-II has be
en shown to act as a beta-cell survival factor in vitro. To examine whether
IGF-II regulates beta-cell apoptosis in vivo, an IGF-II transgenic mouse m
odel was used in which mouse IGF-II is overexpressed in skin, gut, and uter
us driven by a keratin promoter, so that circulating IGF-II is retained pos
tnatally. Mice were killed between postnatal days 7 and 26, and the pancrea
s was examined histologically. Apoptotic cells were visualized by the termi
nal deoxynucleotidyltransferase-mediated deoxy-UTP nick end labeling method
, and proliferating cells were examined by immunohistochemistry for prolife
rating cell nuclear antigen. In nontransgenic mice, serum IGF-II was absent
by 26 days, but mean (+/-SEM) values were 45 +/- 9 ng/ml (n = 5) in transg
enic animals. A 2- to 3-fold rise in islet cell apoptosis was seen in norma
l animals between days 11 and 16, but this was substantially decreased in I
GF-II transgenic mice (day 11; control, 12 +/- 1%; transgenic, 6 +/- 1%; P
< 0.01; n = 5). Consequently, islets from IGF-II transgenic mice had a sign
ificantly greater mean area from days 11-16, but the proportions of beta- a
nd alpha-cells and circulating insulin levels were not changed. Islet cell
DNA synthesis was increased in transgenic mice on days 13 and 16. The total
islet number per section did not alter. The results show that a persistent
presence of circulating IGF-II postnatally alters endocrine pancreatic ont
ogeny in the mouse and largely prevents the wave of developmental apoptosis
that precipitates beta-cell turnover in neonatal life.