Summary
It has been shown, by using the immunogold technique, that C-peptide and insulin are co-localized in the mature granules of human pancreaticβ cells and insulinomas with typical granules. The mean gold bead densities of both C-peptide and insulin were at least twice as high in the normal pancreas when compared with the insulinomas. The mean granule diameter of the insulinoma cells (D=0.30 ±0.12 μm) was smaller than that of human pancreatic cells (D=0.45 ±0.15 μm). The morphometric data indicate that each of the antigens (C-peptide and insulin) is distributed similarly in the halos and the dense cores of theβ granules. Thus, no topological segregation of these two antigens occurs within theβ granules of either normal human pancreas or insulinomas.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Abramson DR (1986) Post embedding colloidal gold immunolocalization of laminin to the lamina rara interna, lamina densa, and lamina rara externa of renal glomerular basement membranes. J Histochem Cytochem 34:847–853
Bendayan M, Zollinger M (1983) Ultrastructural localization of antigenic sites on osmium-fixed tissues applying the protein A gold technique. J Histochem Cytochem 31:101–109
Berger G, Berger F, Dutrieux N, Guilland MH, Vauzell J (1988) Electron microscope localization of insulin-like immunore-activity of conventionally processed human insulinomas. Virchows Arch [A] 412:443–450
Bussolati G, Capella C, Vassalo G, Solcia E (1971) Chemical and ultrastructural studies on pancreatic A cells. Evidence for glucagonand non-glucagon components of the granule. Diabetologia 7:181–188
Creutzfeldt W, Arnold R, Creutzfeldt C, Deuticke U, Frerichs H, Tracks NS (1973) Biochemical and morphological investigation of 30 insulinomas: correlation between the tumor content on insulin and proinsulin-like components and the histological and ultrastructural appearance. Diabetologia 9:217–231
Ehrhart M, Graube D, Bader MF, Aunis D, Gratzl M (1986) Chromogranin A in the pancreatic iselt: cellular and subcellular distribution. J Histochem Cytochem 34:1673–1682
Fletcher DJ, Quigley JP, Bauer GE, Noe BD (1981) Characterization of proinsulin-and proglucagon-converting activities in isolated islet secretory granules.J Cell Biol 90:312–322
Hammel I, Dvorak AM, Galli SJ (1987) Defective cytoplasmic granule formation I. Abnormalities affecting tissue mast cells and pancreatic acinar cells of Beige mice. Lab Invest 56:321–328
Hammel I, Kalina M (1989) Insulin and C-peptide (Proinsulin) packaging: A quantitative immunocytochemical approach. J Elect Micro Tech 10:1–7
Kalina M, Elmalek M, Hammel I (1988) Intragranular procesing of propiomelanocortin in the intermediate cells of the rat pituitry glands. Histochemistry 89:193–198
Orci L (1982) Macro-and micro-domains in the endocrine pancreas. Diabetes 31:538–565
Orci L, Ravazola M, Amherdt M, Yanaihara C, Yanaihara N, Halban P, Renold AE, Perrelet A (1984) Insulin, not C-peptide (proinsulin) is present in crinophagic bodies of the pancreatic β cell. J Cell Biol 98:222–228
Orci L (1985) The insulin factory: Assembly line. Diabetologia 28:528–546
Orci L, Ravazola M, Amherdt M, Madsen O, Vassalli J-D, Perrelet A (1985) Direct identification of prohormone conversion site to insulin-secreting cells. Cell 42:671–681
Ravazola M, Orci L (1980) Glucagon and glicentin immunore-activity are topologically segregated in the granule of the human pancreatic A cell. Nature 284:66–67
Steiner DF, Kemmler W, Tager HS, Peterson Jo (1974) Proteolytic processing in the biosynthesis of insulin and other proteins. Fed Proc 33:2105–2115
Varndell IM, Tapia FJ, Probert L, Buchan AMJ, Gu J, DeMey J, Bloom SR, Polak JM (1982) Immunogold staining procedure for the localisation of regulatory peptides. Peptides 3:259–272
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Kalina, M., Grimelius, L., Cedermark, B. et al. Insulin and C-peptide co-localization in theβ granules of normal human pancreas and insulinomas. Vichows Archiv A Pathol Anat 416, 19–23 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01606466
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01606466