Fig. 2: Insulin expression is reduced following transplantation and extended culture in vitro.

a Expression of insulin and glucagon in grafts after transplantation of pre-alpha cells under the kidney capsule of mice (n = 10 animals) at 14 days (left), 28 days (middle) and 56 days (right) post transplant. Inlay shows zoomed-in view of cells at each time point. Coexpression of insulin and glucagon is observed at 14 days. At 28 and 56 days, insulin expression is absent from the majority of cells. Images are representative of n = 2 grafts harvested at each time point. Grafts harvested at 4 and 7 days are not shown. Scale bar = 50 μm. b Extended culture in vitro results in a fraction of pre-alpha cells reducing insulin expression and continuing to express glucagon (highlighted in red). After 28 days extended culture, about 23% of cells express glucagon but not insulin.