Low-Protein Diet during Early Life Causes a Reduction in the Frequency of Cells Immunopositive for Nestin and CD34 in Both Pancreatic Ducts and Islets in the Rat

Feeding a low-protein (LP) diet to pregnant and lactating rats impairs pancreatic islet mass and insulin release in the off-spring, leading to glucose intolerance as adults. We hypoth-esized that an LP diet changes the number of pancreatic en-docrine precursor cells or cells supporting endocrine cell neogenesis. Pregnant rats were given LP (8 % protein) or a control (20 % protein) diet from conception until postnatal d 21. Cells containing nestin, CD34, or c-Kit were quantified in pancreata of the offspring. Stellate cells immunoreactive for nestin were seen to be adjacent to ductal epithelium and were resident within the islets. These were proliferative and im-munonegative for cytokeratin 20, fibronectin, tyrosine hy-droxylase, pancreatic duodenal homeobox 1, Nk homeodo-main transcription factor 6.1, or insulin, but expressed vimentin. Approximately 20 % of islet nestin-positive cells als