Article:  Islet graft heterogeneity and network integration in liver  (2021 AJP-ENDO)

Review:  Role of accessory cells in islet homeostasis  (2018 Current Diabetes Reports)

Participation of donor pericytes and glial cells in islet transplantation.  (A, B) Isolated mouse islet labeled with nestin promoter-driven GFP expression in pericytes and glial cells (green).  Arrows in A indicate the nestin-GFP+ cell bodies. Immunostaining of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP, blue) confirms that a portion of the green cells are glial cells.  (C) Islet graft neurovascular regeneration after transplantation under the renal capsule.  The GFP+ donor pericytes and glial cells were clearly seen under the capsule. Note that the revascularization was not completed (vascular density: domain 3>2>4>1; red, lectin perfusion labeling). The prominent presence of donor pericytes (green; nestin-GFP+, GFAP-) in domains 1 and 4 suggests their potential role in recruiting the host endothelial cells for graft revascularization.  

Islet accessory cells in transplantation. Mouse donor pericytes and glial cells are labeled with GFP (green) to reveal their participation in islet transplantation. Graft neurovascular regeneration is prominently seen under the kidney capsule. Blue, GFAP staining of glia; red, blood vessels. The perivascular pericytes (GFP+ and GFAP-) and the peri-graft glial network resemble the pancreatic pericytes and the islet glial network in situ. This video highlights the intrinsic plasticity of the two cell types and their adaptation to the change in islet microenvironment. Left panel, in-depth signal recording; right panel, signal projection (still image).

​Article:  Islet graft Schwann cell sheath and pericytes  (2015 EBioMedicine - The Lancet)

Article:  3D imaging of islet graft sympathetic reinnervation  (2014 AJP-ENDO)