Immunohistochemical and morphometric study of the development of fetal and newborn rat pancreatic islets.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study is to perform a detailed morphometric immunohistochemical study of the development of fetal and newborn rat pancreatic islets.

METHODS

Twenty-four pancreases were obtained from 19 and 21-day-old fetal rats, one and 4-day-old newborn rats. They were fixed in buffered neutral formalin, dehydrated and embedded in paraplast. Sections were stained with anti-insulin antibodies. A morphometric study was performed on the pancreatic islets at the Department of Anatomy, King Abdul-Aziz University, Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, between 2001 and 2002.

RESULTS

The volume density of B cells showed a gradual increase during the last days of gestation and a slight increase during the first 4 days after birth. All the other morphometric parameters showed a gradual increase during the last days of gestation and during the first days after birth. The B cell nuclear diameter and volume showed a slight increase after birth. The B cells were well stained and present in the central part of fetal and newborn islets, while, the other islet cells were present in the periphery of the islets.

CONCLUSION

The size of the endocrine tissue, which was represented by the islet diameter, islet volume, islet volume density, total number of islet cells, number of B cells and volume density of B cells showed a progressive increase during the perinatal period.