Fine structure of the A and D cells of the rabbit endocrine pancreas in vivo and incubated in vitro. I. Mechanism of secretion of the A cells.

The cytological changes observed in the A and D cells of rabbit endocrine pancreas incubated in a medium containing 0.6 mg/ml or 3 mg/ml of glucose are described. These cells showed no changes in their fine structure nor any signs of degranulation. When the A cells were incubated in a medium without glucose, they released A granules and synthesized new hormone. The way in which A granules are eliminated is compared to that following insulinic hypoglycemia in the animal in vivo. In both cases, the mechanism of secretion involves margination, emiocytosis of the entire granule, and formation of microvilli, in contrast to previously reported observations (9). The D cells showed no alteration of their fine structure after incubation with different concentrations of glucose in the medium. Only very rarely could we observe morphological changes which were suggestive of emiocytosis of the entire D granule.