Fig. 8: Absence of serotonin 2B (5-HT2B) receptor in insulin-producing pancreatic β cells during pregnancy.
a Immunofluorescence of human pancreatic sections (IHC-IF) from pregnant women at different gestational ages and a non-pregnant control sample. No staining of the 5-HT2B receptor is observed within β cells; however, 5-HT2B receptor signal is evident within pancreatic ducts. The grayscale images represent the individual channels for the 5-HT2B receptor and insulin. The composite merged image displays the 5-HT2B receptor (green) and insulin (magenta) channels. Scale bar = 500 µm for the image overview and 50 µm for the magnified area in the inset. Representative images from five donors are shown; similar results were observed across the 14 biological replicates, each representing an independent human donor. b Colocalisation analysis demonstrating no colocalisation between the 5-HT2B receptor and insulin signals. Scatter plots showing pixel intensity from the 5-HT2B receptor and insulin channels plotted against each other are presented. Pixel intensity for each channel is plotted on the respective axes: the 5-HT2B receptor channel is represented in green on the Y-axis, and the insulin channel is represented in magenta on the X-axis. Whole tissue sections from pregnant women at different gestational ages were analysed. Scatter plots from five donors are shown; similar results were observed across the 14 biological replicates, each representing an independent human donor. c Mander’s overlap coefficients are shown in the table for each whole tissue section, where M1 represents the overlap of the insulin signal over the 5-HT2B receptor signal, and M2 represents the 5-HT2B receptor signal overlapping the insulin signal. Mander’s overlap coefficients from five donors are shown; similar results were observed across the 14 biological replicates, each representing an independent human donor. * GA gestational age, wks weeks, non-preg non-pregnant.
