Abstract
Disclosure: C. Duarte: None. J.K. Panzer: None. N. Borowsky: None. A. Caicedo: None. The parasympathetic vagus nerve affects pancreas function by activating local intrapancreatic neurons that release acetylcholine (ACh). These neurons are derived from progenitors of the vagal neural crest and colonize the pancreas during embryonic development. The specific mechanisms by which ACh is released from these neurons influence embryonic development of the islet and, specifically, beta cells remain largely unknown. The purpose of this study was to identify cholinergic signaling components and assess early physiological responses to ACh during murine development of endocrine lineage cells. We extracted pancreatic rudiments from mice at embryonic stages E15 to E18 and stained them for neuronal and endocrine markers, along with components associated with cholinergic signaling. We further performed Ca2+ imaging of the pancreatic rudiments from NGN3CRE-GCaMP3 mice to record responses to ACh in cells of the endocrine lineage. At E15, we observed a significantly higher concentration of glucagon+ cells compared to insulin+ cells, consistent with the earlier differentiation of alpha cells in the developing pancreas. Neuronal body clusters were identified in close proximity to endocrine lineage cells from E15 to E18, with the neuronal network becoming more dispersed and interconnected. At E15, wide distribution of the presynaptic vesicular acetylcholine transporter (VAChT) was observed later becoming localized around insulin+ and glucagon+ cells at E18. Postsynaptic acetylcholinesterase (AChE) colocalized with glucagon+ cells from E15 to E18 and with insulin+ cells by E18. ACh elicited Ca2+ responses in individual endocrine cells as early as E15. Our results show that cholinergic nerve terminals target early endocrine cells and elicit responses to ACh, indicating that local cholinergic neurons innervate and activate endocrine progenitors in the embryonic pancreas. Our current studies are aimed at determining how cholinergic signaling contributes to beta cell differentiation and function. We expect this knowledge to guide future protocols for deriving beta cells from stem cells. Presentation: 6/2/2024