The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of gender on the distribution of pancreatic islets in native chicken. Ten adult male and ten adult female Isfahan native chickens were used in this experiment. Results showed a distinct sexual dimorphism in the native chicken pancreas which depends upon the various fractions of the pancreatic lobes, which were occupied by alpha, beta an...

Pancreatic beta-cell death adversely contributes to the progression of both type I and II diabetes by undermining beta-cell mass and subsequently diminishing endogenous insulin production. Therapeutics to impede or even reverse the apoptosis and dysfunction of beta-cells are urgently needed. Asialo-rhuEPO, an enzymatically desialylated form of recombinant human erythropoietin (rhuEPO), has been...

BACK GROUND Overt and subtle iron overload cause diabetes by lowering insulin production and promoting insulin resistance. Via divalent metal transporters pancreatic beta cells take up non-transferrin-bound iron which by catalyzing Fenton reaction can cause oxidative stress. Due to their strict dependence on mitochondrial glucose metabolism and limited antioxidant capacity, beta cells are exqui...

OBJECTIVE Apoptotic destruction of insulin-producing pancreatic beta-cells is involved in the etiology of both type 1 and type 2 diabetes. AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) is a sensor of cellular energy charge whose sustained activation has recently been implicated in pancreatic beta-cell apoptosis and in islet cell death posttransplantation. Here, we examine the importance of beta-cell AMPK...

BACKGROUND Human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) is normally produced and secreted by trophoblastic cells during pregnancy and from gestational trophoblastic neoplasms. It is also detected in ovarian, stomach, and colon adenocarcinomas, as well as in squamous cell carcinoma of the oesophagus. Recently, interest in its role in the pathogenesis of tumours has been enlivened after the presence of bet...