Folinic acid stimulates β-cell differentiation in neonatal pig islets.a–d Folinic acid stimulates β-cell differentiation from ductal cells in neonatal pig islets. Images of control (a) and folinic acid-treated (b) neonatal pig islets immunostained for insulin and CK7. Quantification of the percentage of CK7+ and CK7+Insulin+ cells is shown in (c) and (d), respectively. Arrowheads point to CK7+Insulin+ cells. n = 4 biologically independent pig islet preparations. Data are presented as mean values ± SEM. d *P = 0.0286. e–h Folinic acid did not increase the percentage of α- or β-cells in the in vitro neonatal pig islet culture. Control (e) and folinic acid-treated (f) neonatal pig islets immunostained for insulin and glucagon. Quantification of the percentage of α- and β-cells is shown in (g) and (h), respectively. n = 4 biologically independent pig islet preparations. Data are presented as mean values ± SEM. The scale bar is 50 μm for all pictures in the figure. All statistical analyses were performed with a Mann–Whitney two-tailed test.
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