The Aging Pancreas: Investigating Blood Vessel Changes in Pancreatic Islets
Faculty Mentor Information
Dr. Lizbeth de la Cruz
Additional Funding Sources
IDeA supports this project from the NIGMS-NIH (Grant #P20GM103408).
Abstract
Aging is associated with an increase in type-2 diabetes, yet structural and physiological changes in pancreatic islets during aging have not been studied in depth. 70% of pancreatic islets are Β-cells, which secrete insulin when blood glucose levels increase. Since insulin secretion depends on blood glucose levels, regulating blood flow through the islet vascular is critical to determining insulin secretion. This research aimed to compare the islet vascular systems of young (approx. 5 months) and old (approx. 28 months) mice. We observed an increase in the vessel diameter of islets isolated from old animals, with young vessel diameters averaging 4 microns and old vessel diameters averaging 6 microns. This change was independent of individual islet size. In conclusion, aging is associated with increased vessel diameter within the islet, suggesting blood flow regulation may be compromised. Future research would connect the structural changes of vessels and the blood flow with functional alterations in insulin secretion during the aging process.
The Aging Pancreas: Investigating Blood Vessel Changes in Pancreatic Islets
Aging is associated with an increase in type-2 diabetes, yet structural and physiological changes in pancreatic islets during aging have not been studied in depth. 70% of pancreatic islets are Β-cells, which secrete insulin when blood glucose levels increase. Since insulin secretion depends on blood glucose levels, regulating blood flow through the islet vascular is critical to determining insulin secretion. This research aimed to compare the islet vascular systems of young (approx. 5 months) and old (approx. 28 months) mice. We observed an increase in the vessel diameter of islets isolated from old animals, with young vessel diameters averaging 4 microns and old vessel diameters averaging 6 microns. This change was independent of individual islet size. In conclusion, aging is associated with increased vessel diameter within the islet, suggesting blood flow regulation may be compromised. Future research would connect the structural changes of vessels and the blood flow with functional alterations in insulin secretion during the aging process.