Transgenic mice with green fluorescent protein-labeled pancreatic β-cells

M Hara, X Wang, T Kawamura… - American Journal …, 2003 - journals.physiology.org
M Hara, X Wang, T Kawamura, VP Bindokas, RF Dizon, SY Alcoser, MA Magnuson, GI Bell
American Journal of Physiology-Endocrinology and Metabolism, 2003journals.physiology.org
We have generated transgenic mice that express green fluorescent protein (GFP) under the
control of the mouse insulin I gene promoter (MIP). The MIP-GFP mice develop normally and
are indistinguishable from control animals with respect to glucose tolerance and pancreatic
insulin content. Histological studies showed that the MIP-GFP mice had normal islet
architecture with coexpression of insulin and GFP in the β-cells of all islets. We observed
GFP expression in islets from embryonic day E13. 5 through adulthood. Studies of β-cell …
We have generated transgenic mice that express green fluorescent protein (GFP) under the control of the mouse insulin I gene promoter (MIP). The MIP-GFP mice develop normally and are indistinguishable from control animals with respect to glucose tolerance and pancreatic insulin content. Histological studies showed that the MIP-GFP mice had normal islet architecture with coexpression of insulin and GFP in the β-cells of all islets. We observed GFP expression in islets from embryonic day E13.5 through adulthood. Studies of β-cell function revealed no difference in glucose-induced intracellular calcium mobilization between islets from transgenic and control animals. We prepared single-cell suspensions from both isolated islets and whole pancreas from MIP-GFP-transgenic mice and sorted the β-cells by fluorescence-activated cell sorting based on their green fluorescence. These studies showed that 2.4 ± 0.2% (n = 6) of the cells in the pancreas of newborn (P1) and 0.9 ± 0.1% (n = 5) of 8-wk-old mice were β-cells. The MIP-GFP-transgenic mouse may be a useful tool for studying β-cell biology in normal and diabetic animals.
American Physiological Society