Aim: To investigate the expression and function of Wolfram syndrome 1 gene (WFS1) during the development of normal pancreas.
Methods: Pancreas from Sprague-Dawley rat fetuses, embryos, young and adult animals were used in this study. Expression levels of WFS1 in pancreas of different development stages were detected by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reation (RT-PCR) and Western blotting. To identify the cell location of WFS1 in the developing rat pancreas, double-immunofluorescent staining was performed using antibodies to specific cell markers and WFS1, respectively.
Results: Compared to E15.5, the highest level of WFS1 mRNA was detected at E18.5, the level of WFS1 mRNA in E15.5 and P0 was less, and at a lowest at adult (P < 0.05 vs P0 and adult), respectively. Compare to E15.5, the highest level of WFS1 was at P14 and lowest at P21 (P < 0.05 vs P14 and P21), respectively. The WFS1 positive staining is expressed in the normal developing rat pancreas mainly in the islet beta-cells and mesenchyme at each stage tested.
Conclusion: These results indicate that WFS1 may be involved in some aspects of pancreatic development and further research on WFS1 may provide new evidences to prove the interactions between mesenchyma and epithelia at the same time.