Abstract:
Authors investigated the nature of the direct effect of the diabetogenic derivatives of 8-hydroxyquinoline
(TSQ) on pancreatic β-cells in experiments on a tissue culture model of isolated pancreatic islets (IPI), which
allows us to study the direct effect of target concentrations of investigated substance on cells, whereas in experiments
on animals, the metabolism of a substance injected into the body with the subsequent effect of metabolites
on β-cells is not excluded. In experiments with IPI of newborn rats, TSQ was added to the nutrient
fluid; after cultivation, the material was fixed in Bouin liquid. Histological and highly specific histochemical
methods specific for insulin and zinc in β-cells were used to assess the insulin content in β-cells and the state
of the islet’s histostructure. Results. It was shown that the direct effect of TSQ on β-cells is accompanied by
cell destruction and a significant decrease of insulin and zinc content (from 1.68–1.74 pu in intact islets to
1.04–1.18 pu in experience), which is the reason for the destruction of islets and the development of type 1
diabetes. When choosing research methods, the most complete results are obtained by using of a complex that
includes two methods — histological or combining the properties of histological and histochemical and one
of the histochemical specific method for insulin and zinc in β-cells. In manual selection of purified pancreatic
islets, the number of damaged IPIs is several times less compared to the other methods.