Figure 4.

Figure 4.

Histological profiles of the abnormal pancreatic region at 6 and 12 months of age. (A–C) Histological examination showed that acinar structure of pancreas (black arrows, zymogen granules in cytoplasm) is disrupted by expansion of populations of poorly differentiated round cells that resemble islet cells (blue arrows). Boxed areas indicate regions depicted at higher magnification in adjacent images. Scale bars: 50 μm. (D and E) GFP and PCNA staining in the abnormal pancreatic region. GFP and PCNA staining was observed in the poorly differentiated cells. Boxed areas indicate regions depicted at higher magnification in adjacent images. Scale bars: 50 μm. (F) In the control group (w/o ela3I-CRE), no GFP and infrequent PCNA staining was observed in the pancreas. Scale bars: 50 μm. (G) Comparison of PCNA positive cells. Highly frequent PCNA staining was observed in the poorly differentiated cells (w/ ela3I-CRE) (28.12%) compared to that in the control group (w/o ela3I-CRE) (7.27%) (**P < .01, Student’s t-test). Means ± S.D., N = 3. Gastrointestinal tract (G.I. tract).