Glucose metabolism is regulated by insulin, which is produced from β-cells in the pancreas. Because insulin is secreted into vessels in response to blood glucose, vascular structures of the pancreas, especially the relationship between vessels and β-cells, are important for physiological and pathological glucose metabolism. Here, we developed a system to visualize vessels surrounding mature β-cells expressing transcription factor MafA in a three-dimensional manner. Optical clearing of the pancreas prevented light scattering of fluorescence driven by the bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC)-mafA promoter in β-cells. Reconstruction of confocal images demonstrated mature β-cells and the glomerular-like structures of β-cell vasculatures labeled with DyLight 488-conjugated lectin in normal mice as well as in low-dose streptozotocin-injected diabetes model mice with reduced β-cell mass. This technological innovation of organ imaging can be used to investigate morphological changes in vascular structures during transplantation, regeneration and diabetes development.

葡萄糖的代谢受胰岛素的调节，胰岛素是由胰腺中的β细胞产生的。因为胰岛素响应于血糖而分泌到血管中，所以胰腺的血管结构，特别是血管与β细胞之间的关系，对于生理和病理学的葡萄糖代谢很重要。在这里，我们开发了一个系统，可以以三维方式可视化表达转录因子MafA的成熟β细胞周围的血管。胰腺的光学清除阻止了细菌人工染色体（BAC）-mafA驱动的荧光的光散射β细胞中的启动子。共聚焦图像的重建表明，正常小鼠以及低剂量注射链脲佐菌素注射液的糖尿病模型小鼠中，用DyLight 488缀合的凝集素标记的成熟β细胞和β细胞脉管的肾小球样结构。器官成像的这项技术创新可用于研究移植，再生和糖尿病发展过程中血管结构的形态变化。