Mechanisms of islet morphogenesis
- During pancreas development, endocrine progenitors emerge as single cells and progressively coalesce to form mature islets. We use zebrafish as a model for examining islet morphogenesis in vivo with subcellular resolution.
- Imaging with high spatial and temporal resolution reveals fine dynamic processes
Early beta cells extend fine filopodia towards nearby cells.
Project Team: Robin Kimmel, Nadine Alge
Featured in BPOD (Biomedical Picture of the Day):
Selected Publications:
Freudenblum, Julia; Meyer, Dirk; Kimmel, Robin A. (2022): Mitochondrial network expansion and dynamic redistribution during islet morphogenesis in zebrafish larvae. (DOI)
Freudenblum J, Meyer D and Kimmel RA (2020) Inducible Mosaic Cell Labeling Provides Insights Into Pancreatic Islet Morphogenesis. Front. Cell Dev. Biol. 8:586651. DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2020.586651
Freudenblum J, Iglesias JA, Hermann M, Walsen T, Wilfinger A, Meyer D, Kimmel RA. In vivo imaging of emerging endocrine cells reveals a requirement for PI3K-regulated motility in pancreatic islet morphogenesis. In Development 2018 Feb 8:145(3). (DOI) Pubmed
Kimmel, R.A.; Meyer, D. (2016) Zebrafish Pancreas as a Model for Development and Disease. Methods in Cell Biology, available online 17 March 2016. doi:10.1016/bs.mcb.2016.02.009 . Pubmed
Kimmel RA, Onder L, Wilfinger A, Ellertsdottir E, Meyer D. (2011) Requirement for Pdx1 in specification of latent endocrine progenitors in zebrafish. BMC Biol. 2011 Oct 31;9:75. Pubmed. DOI: 10.1186/1741-7007-9-75
Kimmel, R., Meyer, D. (2010) Molecular regulation of pancreas development in zebrafish. Methods Cell Biol 100, 261-80. PubMed. DOI: 10.1016/B978-0-12-384892-5.00010-4