Abstract
Islets of Langerhans are islands of endocrine cells scattered throughout the pancreas. A number of new studies have pointed to the potential for conversion of non-β islet cells in to insulin-producing β-cells to replenish β-cell mass as a means to treat diabetes. Understanding normal islet cell mass and function is important to help advance such treatment modalities: what should be the target islet/β-cell mass, does islet architecture matter to energy homeostasis, and what may happen if we lose a particular population of islet cells in favour of β-cells? These are all questions to which we will need answers for islet replacement therapy by transdifferentiation of non-β islet cells to be a reality in humans. We know a fair amount about the biology of β-cells but not quite as much about the other islet cell types. Until recently, we have not had a good grasp of islet mass and distribution in the human pancreas. In this review, we will look at current data on islet cells, focussing more on non-β cells, and on human pancreatic islet mass and distribution.
Highlights
IntroductionThe islands or (more commonly) islets of Langerhans, first described by their namesake- Paul
The islands or islets of Langerhans, first described by their namesake- PaulLangerhans- in 1969, are islands of mixed populations of endocrine cells that are scattered in the parenchyma of the pancreas
Islets of Langerhans have been much studied in the context of diabetes due to the hormones produced and secreted from the cells which form these micro-organs, which are involved in the regulation of glucose homeostasis
Summary
The islands or (more commonly) islets of Langerhans, first described by their namesake- Paul. Islets of Langerhans have been much studied in the context of diabetes due to the hormones produced and secreted from the cells which form these micro-organs, which are involved in the regulation of glucose homeostasis. The biology of the insulin producing β-cells in the islet came under much scrutiny as the loss of β-cell function, the loss of insulin, was associated with diabetes. Data from the literature indicate that whilst loss of pancreatic β-cell mass may lead to disease, there is little or no effect on physiology from near complete loss of α-cell mass, responsible for secretion of glucagon (the counter hormone to insulin) in rodents [6]. Med. 2018, 7, 54 mass as treatment for diabetes [4,5,7,8], it is perhaps timely to review current information on islet cell mass and the function of the different islet cell types
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
