A porcine islet of Langerhans. The left image is a brightfield image created using hematoxylin stain; nuclei are dark circles and the acinar pancreatic tissue is darker than the islet tissue. The right image is the same section stained by immunofluorescence against insulin, indicating beta cells.

Islets of Langerhans, haemalum-eosin stain.

Section of pancreas of dog. X 250.

The endocrine (i.e., hormone-producing) cells of the pancreas are grouped in the islets of Langerhans. Discovered in 1869 by the German pathological anatomist Paul Langerhans, the islets of Langerhans constitute approximately 1 to 2% of the mass of the pancreas. There are about one million islets in a healthy adult human pancreas, which are distributed evenly throughout the organ, and their combined weight is 1 to 1.5 grams. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 757 × 600 pixel Image in higher resolution (1063 × 842 pixel, file size: 805 KB, MIME type: image/png) An islet of Langerhans from a porcine pancreas section. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 757 × 600 pixel Image in higher resolution (1063 × 842 pixel, file size: 805 KB, MIME type: image/png) An islet of Langerhans from a porcine pancreas section. ... Haematoxylin is extracted from the wood of the logwood tree. ... A acinus (adjective: acinar, plural acini) refers to the berry-shaped termination of an exocrine gland, where the secretion is produced. ... Beta cells are a type of cell in the pancreas in areas called the islets of Langerhans. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... The endocrine system is a control system of ductless endocrine glands that secrete chemical messengers called hormones that circulate within the body via the bloodstream to affect distant organs. ... For other uses, see Hormone (disambiguation). ... The pancreas is a gland organ in the digestive and endocrine systems of vertebrates[2]. It is both exocrine (secreting pancreatic juice containing digestive enzymes) and endocrine (producing several important hormones, including insulin, glucagon, and somatostatin). ... 1869 (MDCCCLXIX) is a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Sunday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar. ... Paul Langerhans (1847 - 1888) was a famous German pathologist and biologist. ...

Cell types

Hormones produced in the Islets of Langerhans are secreted directly into the blood flow by (at least) four different types of cells:

• Beta cells producing Insulin and Amylin (65-80% of the islet cells)
• Alpha cells releasing Glucagon (15-20%)
• Delta cells producing Somatostatin (3-10%)
• PP cells containing Pancreatic polypeptide (1%)
• Epsilon cells containing ghrelin

Islets can influence each other through paracrine and autocrine communication, and beta-cells are coupled electrically to beta-cells (but not to other cell-types). Beta cells are a type of cell in the pancreas in areas called the islets of Langerhans. ... is really just water but doctors get you to pay more Not to be confused with inulin. ... Amylin, or Islet Amyloid Polypeptide (IAPP), is a 37-residue peptide hormone secreted by pancreatic β-cells at the same time as insulin (in a roughly 100:1 ratio). ... Alpha cells are endocrine cells in the islets of Langerhans of the pancreas. ... Glucagon ball and stick model A microscopic image stained for glucagon. ... Delta cells are somatostatin producing cells. ... Somatostatin is a hormone. ... PP cells are pancreatic polypeptide producing cells in the islets of Langerhans in the pancreas. ... Pancreatic polypeptide is an enzyme secreted by PP cells in the tail of pancreas. ... Epsilon cells (ε-cells) are endocrine cells found in the Islets of Langerhans and produce the hormone ghrelin. ... Ghrelin is a hormone produced by P/D1 cells lining the acer of the human stomach that stimulate appetite. ... Paracrine signalling is a form of signalling in which the target cell is close to the signal releasing cell, and the signal chemical is broken down too quickly to be carried to other parts of the body. ... Autocrine signalling is a form of signalling in which the target cell is the secretory cell itself. ...

Paracrine feedback

The paracrine feedback system of the islets of Langerhans has the following structure:

• Insulin: Activates beta cells and inhibits alpha cells.
• Glucagon: Activates alpha which activates beta cells and delta cells.
• Somatostatin: Inhibits alpha cells and beta cells.

Electrical activity

Electrical activity of pancreatic islets has been studied using patch clamp techniques, and it has turned out that the behavior of cells in intact islets differs significantly from the behaviour of dispersed cells. Classical patch clamp setup, with microscope, antivibration table and micro manipulators Complete miniaturized planar patch clamp setup Patch clamp technique is a technique in electrophysiology that allows the study of individual ion channels in cells. ...

As a treatment for type I diabetes

Since the beta cells in islets of Langerhans are destroyed in type I diabetes, clinicians and researchers are actively pursuing islet transplantation technology as a means of curing this disease. This article is about the disease that features high blood sugar. ... Microscopic image of an islet of Langerhans (lighter area) surrounded by exocrine pancreas tissue (darker staining) Islet transplantation is the transplantation of isolated islets from a donor pancreas and into another person. ...

Transplantation

With the possiblity of restoring beta cells, the Chicago Project headed at University of Illinois at Chicago Medical Center is probing for a way to regenerate beta cells in the islets and have them cultivate on their own within a human pancreas. With that being said, beta cells experience apoptosis early and thus become destroyed within a normal-functioning pancreas. The source of this seems to come from the transfer of Pander, a gene that enters in by attaching to RNA. This process of RNA transportation can be found in the glucose that bombards the beta cells. The genetic encoding found within Pander causes the beta cells to stop during the S phase of mitosis and head straight to apotasis. This ceases much of the reproduction of beta cells within the Islets.

References in pop culture

• A Harlan Ellison short story titled "Adrift Just Off the Islets of Langerhans: Latitude 38° 54' N, Longitude 77° 00' 13" W" appears in his collection Deathbird Stories. (Those coordinates locate the intersection of H and 2nd N.E. in Washington, D.C., behind Union Station)
• American parodist "Weird Al" Yankovic released a song entitled Pancreas on his album Straight Outta Lynwood, which continually repeats the lyrics "Insulin, Glucagon, comin' from the Islets of Langerhans" to a catchy tune during the final minute of the song.
• On their comedy album How Can You Be in Two Places at Once When You're Not Anywhere at All, The Firesign Theatre referred to immigrants who came "from little towns with strange names like Smegma, Spasmodic, Frog, and the far-flung Isles of Langerhans".
• In the Lord of the Rings parody book Bored of the Rings by the Harvard Lampoon, the map features two islands situated close to each other labled "The Isles of Langerhans".

Harlan Jay Ellison (born May 27, 1934) is a prolific American writer of short stories, novellas, teleplays, essays, and criticism. ... Subtitled A Pantheon of Gods, this 1975 collection of short stories by Harlan Ellison addresses the theme of modern-day deities that have replaced the older, more traditional ones. ... See Cartesian coordinate system or Coordinates (elementary mathematics) for a more elementary introduction to this topic. ... For other uses, see Washington, D.C. (disambiguation). ... Union Station is the grand ceremonial train station designed to be the entrance to Washington, D.C. when it opened in 1907. ... In contemporary usage, parody is a form of satire that imitates another work of art in order to ridicule it. ... This article is about the musician himself. ... The pancreas is a gland organ in the digestive and endocrine systems of vertebrates[2]. It is both exocrine (secreting pancreatic juice containing digestive enzymes) and endocrine (producing several important hormones, including insulin, glucagon, and somatostatin). ... Singles from Straight Outta Lynwood Released: August 21, 2006 Released: September 12, 2006 Released: September 26, 2006 Released: March 19, 2007 Straight Outta Lynwood is the twelfth album by Weird Al Yankovic. ... is really just water but doctors get you to pay more Not to be confused with inulin. ... Glucagon ball and stick model A microscopic image stained for glucagon. ... How Can You Be in Two Places at Once When Youre Not Anywhere at All was the second comedy album recorded by The Firesign Theatre. ... Left to right: Phil Proctor, Peter Bergman, Phil Austin, and David Ossman in 2001 The Firesign Theatre is a comedy troupe consisting of Phil Austin, Peter Bergman, David Ossman, and Philip Proctor. ... Dust jacket of the 1968 UK edition The Lord of the Rings is an epic fantasy story by J. R. R. Tolkien, a sequel to his earlier work, The Hobbit. ... Bored of the Rings (BOTR) is the shared title of various independent parodies of The Lord of the Rings (LOTR), a novel by J. R. R. Tolkien. ...

External links

• MeSH A03.734.414
• Histology at OU 80_14 - "Pancreas"