UCSF

Besides the relatively well-studied endocrine cell types, such as the insulin producing-beta cell and glucagon-producing alpha cell, the pancreatic islet also includes multiple less-appreciated non-endocrine cells types. These non-endocrine cell types include blood vessel-related cells, including endothelial cells and pericytes, and nervous system related cells, including neurons and glial cells. While their existence has been recognized for decades, the GFAP+ glial cells that ensheath and extend into the islet are understudied and largely uncharacterized. The author of this thesis sought to define the GFAP+ cell population and its lineage, test potential mouse models and culturing systems that could be used to interrogate these cells, as well as perform single cell RNA-seq analysis on these cells by using the Drop-seq method. We found that the GFAP+ cells in the pancreas are of neural crest cell lineage and these cells remain and survive in ex vivo islet culturing systems. Additionally, through Drop-seq, we confirm that these GFAP+ cells express glial cell-associated genes as well as other cell markers that could be used experimentally to manipulate these seemingly genetically-intractable cells.