Immunohistochemistry of pancreatic development in cattle and pig

The aim of this study was to characterize bovine and porcine pancreatic development by immunohistochemistry. In the pig, staining for both glucagon and insulin was noted at day 19. In cattle, glucagon staining was observed at day 25 and insulin staining from day 26. In both species, glucagon-stained cells were abundant initially, but later insulin-stained cells became most abundant. A few cells displayed co-localization of glucagon and insulin staining during initial development in both species. Initially, most of the cells of the pancreatic primordia and the duodenal epithelium displayed Pdx-1-staining. All insulin-stained cells displayed Pdx-1-stained nuclei, whereas no glucagon-stained cells did so. Many Pdx-1-stained cells lacked insulin staining, but with development, the relative number of these cells diminished. Nkx6.1-staining was initially seen in a pattern similar to that for Pdx-1, but was lacking duodenal staining. Subsequently, the number of Nkx6.1-stained cells diminished, but increased again to a level where practically all insulin-stained cells also presented Nkx6.1-staining. Glucagon-stained cells, on the other hand, never had Nkx6.1 staining. In conclusion, the localization of the two transcription factors, Pdx-1 and Nkx6.1, demonstrated that pancreas development appears to be controlled by mechanisms comparable with those operating in humans.