DJ-1 islet cell–autonomously protects from STZ-induced beta cell death in vitro.

<p><b>(a-p)</b> LSM live cell images of pancreatic islets from male control <b>(a-d;i-l)</b> and DJ-1 KO mice <b>(e-h;m-p)</b> stained with Hoechst <b>(a,e,i</b> and <b>m)</b>, calcein AM <b>(b,f, j</b> and <b>n)</b>, and ethidium homodimer-1 <b>(c,g,k</b> and <b>o)</b>. Merged images are shown in <b>d,h,l</b> and <b>p</b>. Scale bar, 50 μm. <b>(q)</b> Quantification of dead cells of pancreatic islets from control and DJ-1 KO mice after 24 hours exposure to STZ treatment. Data are presented as ethidium homodimer-1 positive area per total cell nuclei area. For one experiment, islets harvested from 3–5 mice per genotype were pooled, treated and quantified. Statistical significance was assessed using the means of n = 3 independent experiments. *p<0.05 (Two-way ANOVA followed by Tukey’s multiple comparison test). Data are expressed as means ± S.D.