270-LB: Pancreatic Glial Cells Distribution Patterns Are Distinct between Human and Mouse

Abstract

Glial cells are components of the central and peripheral nervous systems, which provide physical support for neuron and modulate synaptic transmission. We and others previously showed that in mice, pancreatic glial cells are located in close association with the extensive neuro-endocrine-vascular network that surrounds the islet perimeter. It is well known that differences exist in mouse and human islet architecture, in particular in vascular density and innervation. We therefore sought to determine whether density and/or organization of pancreatic glial cells also differs between mouse and human. Glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) was used to identify pancreatic glial cells and was examined by confocal microscopy. In mouse pancreas, GFAP+ cells were frequently identified around the islet periphery and were less frequently seen in the core of the islet. In human pancreas, however, most of the GFAP+ cells were found in the exocrine tissue, resulting in fewer peri-islet glial cells relative to mice (table). High-fat diet feeding significantly increased %peri-islet GFAP+ area in mice while no difference was seen between obese and lean human donors (table). These findings indicate that pancreatic glial cell distribution patterns differ between mouse and human, raising the possibility that these cells may affect islet-cell function differently between the two species. Disclosure J. Niu: None. D. J. Hackney: None. P. Ahmadi: None. M. Hara: None. R. L. Hull-meichle: Employee; Veterans Administration, Research Support; Casma Therapeutics, Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, NIH - National Institutes of Health, Veterans Administration. J. Tong: None. Funding University of Washington