Alteration of the Cardiac Sympathetic Innervation Is Modulated by Duration of Diabetes in Female Rats
Figure 3
Expression of pancreatic insulin detected by immunohistochemistry in representative micrographs of a young healthy rat (a), a diabetic rat 1 month after STZ administration (b), an old healthy rat (c), and an old diabetic rat 22 months after STZ administration (d). In (a), the islets were rich in insulin-positive cells; also the intensity of reaction was very strong. In (b), the islets (red-dashed outline) were small and contained only traces of insulin positivity (green arrow). The overall shrinkage of islet mass and depopulation of beta cells in group were accompanied by islet reorganization, impairing the natural structure of endocrine trabecular epithelium. In (c), the islets were of normal size, while the insulin-positive cells occupied most of the islets. In (d), the islets showed signs of tissue remodelling when compared with control rats, but they contained population of insulin-positive cells similar to the pancreata of healthy animals of comparable age. Scale bar indicates 50 μm.
