Histogenesis of the islets of Langerhans in insulin-treated chick embryos

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Abstract
Chick embryos were exposed to a teratogenic dose of insulin at the 6-day incubation stage and the effect of this treatment on the histogenesis of the islets of Langerhans was studied throughout the incubation period. The exogenous insulin caused an initial delay in the differentiation of the beta islets and in the elaboration of the endogenous insulin. During the final prehatching stages, the endogenous insulin appeared to be elaborated more rapidly than in the control tissues. The insulin treatment caused an increased activity of the alpha cells and an increased production of glucagon. Histochemically, the ribonucleic acid content of both alpha and beta cells was reduced, especially during the early stages of development. Also, there was an initial increase in glycogen storage and alkaline phosphatase activity within the alpha cells. The beta islets in the insulin-treated tissues, except for the initial delay in their development, showed no significant differences in the glycogen and alkaline phosphatase patterns from the control.

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