Immunohistochemical study to detect glucagon and insulin hormones in pancreas of camel and buffalo

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Glucagon plays a significant role in glucose homeostasis by controlling hepatic glucose output in terms of both hypoglycemic and normoglycemic conditions. This study aimed to determine the amount and intensity of insulin and glucagon in addition to estimating the relationship between α- and β-cells for two animals, camel and buffalo. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty fresh pancreas samples were collected from 10 buffalo and 10 camel adults immediately after slaughter from AL-Kut abattoir, Al- Kut, Iraq. Hematoxylin and eosin staining technique and the immunohistochemistry technique were used. RESULTS: The histological results, for both animals, showed the cells of the pancreatic islet could be differentiated from the exocrine cells by their paler appearance. The pancreatic islets were round, oval, and irregular shaped. In the camel, the pancreatic islets had a larger diameter than that in the buffalo. The average diameter of β-cells and their percentage was higher than those of the α-cells in the camel. In the buffalo, glucagon-immunoreactive cells were found in abundance with high intensity, whereas insulin-immunoreactive cells were more prominent with high intensity in the camel. In both animals, the α-cells and glucagon-immunoreactive cells were distributed on the peripheries of the pancreatic islets, whereas the β-cells were distributed throughout the pancreatic islets. CONCLUSION: The study inferences that these differences may be due to the differences in the environment of the animals which affect the structures of body organs.