Table 1.
Primary and secondary antibodies used in the study
| Antibody | Host | Catalogue number | Dilution | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Primary antibody | ||||
| Anti-glucagon | Mouse | 14-9743-82 | 1 : 200 | ThermoFisher, Waltham, MA, USA |
| Anti-insulin | Mouse | MA5-12037 | 1 : 200 | ThermoFisher |
| Anti-somatostatin | Mouse | 14-9751-82 | 1 : 5000 | ThermoFisher |
| Anti-pancreatic polypeptide | Rabbit | ab272732 | 1 : 2000 | Abcam, Cambridge,UK |
| Anti-cleaved caspase 3 | Rabbit | AF7022 | 1 : 150 | Affinity Biosciences, Cincinnati, OH, USA |
| Anti-proliferating-cell nuclear antigen | Rabbit | AF0239 | 1 : 150 | Affinity Biosciences |
| Secondary antibody | ||||
| Anti-mouse/rabbit | Goat | DPVB-HRP | RTU | ImmunoLogic, Duiven, the Netherlands |
Fig. 1.
(A) Islet area, (B) islet diameter and (C) islet density mean values (with standard deviation-whiskers) of small, medium and large islets in the control (n = 6) and apelin-treated (n = 6) rat groups and (D) percentage of islet area in the pancreas in the control and apelin-treated groups. Asterisks (*) indicate significant differences between control and apelin treated groups within like-sized subgroups of islets (* – P-value < 0.05; *** – P-value < 0.001)
Fig. 2.
(a and b) Immunoreactivity of glucagon, (c and d) insulin, (e and f) somatostatin and (g and h) pancreatic polypeptide in (a–d) large and (e–h) small pancreatic islets: a, c, e and g – control group; b, d, f and h – apelin group. Red lines indicate the diameter of the islet and red arrows indicate changes in immunoreactive cell density (cells/1,000 µm2). Scale bar: 100 µm
Fig. 3.
(A) Stained alpha cell percentage and (B) alpha cell density mean values (with standard deviation-whiskers) in small, medium and large islets in the control (n = 6) and apelin-treated (n = 6) rat groups. Asterisks (*) indicate significant differences between control and apelin treated groups within like-sized subgroups of islets (** – P-value < 0.01; *** – P-value < 0.001)
Fig. 4.
(A) Stained beta cell percentage and (B) beta cell density mean values (with standard deviation-whiskers) in small, medium and large islets in the control (n = 6) and apelin-treated (n = 6) rat groups. Asterisks (*) indicate significant differences between the control and apelin-treated groups in like-sized subgroups of islets (* – P-value < 0.05; ** – P-value < 0.01)
Fig. 5.
(A) Stained delta-cell percentage and (B) delta cell density mean values (with standard deviation-whiskers) in small, medium and large islets in the control (n = 6) and apelin-treated (n = 6) rat groups. Asterisks (*) indicate significant differences between the control and apelin-treated groups in like-sized subgroups of islets (* – P-value < 0.05)
Fig. 6.
(A) Stained F-cell percentage and (B) F-cell density mean values (with standard deviation-whiskers) in like-sized subgroups of islets in the control (n = 6) and apelin-treated (n = 6) rat groups
Fig. 7.
(A) Alpha cell number per 100 µm2 of pancreas and (B) beta cell number per 100 µm2 of pancreas outside of the pancreatic islets mean values (with standard deviation-whiskers). Asterisks (*) indicate significant differences between the control (n = 6) and apelin-treated (n = 6) groups (* – P-value < 0.05; ** – P-value < 0.01)
Fig. 8.
(A) Proliferating cell nuclear antigen percentage (%PCNA) of positive exocrine pancreatic cells, (B) proenzyme form of cysteine protease, 32 kDa percentage (%CPP32) of positive exocrine pancreatic cells, (C) %PCNA of positive cells in individual pancreatic islets and (D) %CPP32 of positive cells in individual pancreatic islets mean values (with standard deviation-whiskers) for the control (n = 6) and the apelin-treated (n = 6) rat groups. Asterisks (*) indicate significant differences between control and apelin treated groups (* – P-value < 0.05; *** – P-value < 0.001)