The MODY1 gene HNF-4α regulates selected genes involved in insulin secretion
J. Clin. Invest. Rana K. Gupta, et al. 115:1006 doi:10.1172/JCI22365 [Go to this article.]

Figure 3
HNF-4α is not required for the maintenance of islet architecture or β cell mass. (A–D) Immunofluorescence detection of the pancreatic hormones insulin, glucagon, and somatostatin, which label β cells, α cells, and δ cells, respectively. Similar to controls (A and C), 3- to 5-month-old HNF-4α^loxP/loxP; Ins.Cre mice contain glucagon-positive α cells (B) and somatostatin-positive δ cells (D). In addition, insulin-positive β cells are centrally located in the islets of both controls and mutants, while less-frequent α cells and δ cells are found along the periphery (A–D), indicating normal islet architecture in the HNF-4α^loxP/loxP; Ins.Cre mice. Magnification, ×200. (E) Point-counting morphometry of 4-month-old mice reveals no significant difference in β cell mass between controls and mutants (control, 0.93 ± 0.17 mg, n = 6; mutant = 1.04 ± 0.22 mg, n = 5; P = NS).