Neuroinsular complex type I: morphology and frequency in lean and genetically obese mice

No quantitative data are available regarding the rate of occurrence of nerve cells in association with endocrine pancreas (i.e.. neuroinsular complexes type I [NICs]), or the difference in the distribution of NICs in normal and diabetic pancreas. In this report, pancreata from 20-day, 7-week, and 9-month-old lean (Umeå +/?) and obese (Umeå ob/ob) mice, as well as 10-month-old C57BL/6JBom and Umeå ob/ob mice, were analyzed with regard to the association of acetylcholinesterase (AChE)-positive and protein gene product 9.5-like (PGP-LI) immunoreactive perikarya with islets, and not in association with islets. NIC profiles were regularly observed, but were more frequent in the 20-day-old mice than in the 9-month-old +/? and ob/ob mice. The NIC profiles were often located close to a duct or blood vessel, significantly more frequently than islet profiles in general. The data did not reveal any gross abnormality in ob/ob mice as regards the frequency of NICs or the number of AChE-positive and PGP-LI perikarya. However, the 9-month-old ob/ob mice demonstrated smaller clusters of perikarya in their NIC profiles as compared to the other mice, probably reflecting the fact that the perikarya were more widely spread out in the hyperplastic islets of adult ob/ob mice. The results show that NICs are common and represent a substantial proportion of the islets in mouse pancreas, supporting the idea that they play a role in islet physiology.