THE EFFECT OF AGEING ON THE TOTAL VOLUMES OF THE A AND B CELLS IN THE ISLETS OF LANGERHANS OF THE RAT

Abstract

Forty male rats of the Wistar strain were sacrificed at 1, 5, 100, and 480 days of age. The mean individual volumes of the B cells were more than 3 times those of the A cells. The B/A cell number ratio was significantly less at birth than at 5 days of age, but their volume proportions were the same at both periods. The percentage volume contribution of the A cells to the total volume of the islets increased with age, while a statistically significant decrease in the relative volume of the B cells occurred. An increasing surface area of the body was found to reflect changes in the total volumes of both the A and B cells in relation to ageing than did either body weight, liver weight or pancreatic weight. A positive correlation existed between the total volume of both A and B cells in all age groups, but there was no correlation in any group between either cell volumes and the pancreatic weight.