Insulin-like growth factor II (IGF-II) appears to play an important role during fetal life in cell growth and differentiation in several organs, including the pancreas. In the present study we investigated the cellular localization of IGF-II in human fetal pancreas at 16, 18 and 22 embryonic weeks and compared it with adult pancreas. Single and double immunofluorescence methods were used to study co-localization of IGF-II with the four major islet hormones - insulin, glucagon, somatostatin, pancreatic polypeptide - and with islet amyloid polypeptide (IAPP). Distinct IGF-II immunoreactive (IR) cells were found in the endocrine, but not in the exocrine, pancreas. The intensity of IGF-II immunoreactivity was more pronounced in the fetal than in the adult pancreas. In fetal pancreas IGF-II immunoreactivity was observed in virtually all insulin-IR cells and in subsets of the glucagon, somatostatin and IAPP cells. In the adult pancreas, IGF-II immunoreactivity was found in insulin/IAPP cells only. Our results suggest a broader effect of IGF-II in fetal endocrine pancreatic cells than in the adult.

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