Intramural serotonin immunoreactive cells in normal and transplanted pancreatic tissue

The distribution and the survival of serotoninergic cells were investigated in normal pancreas and pancreatic tissue fragments transplanted into the anterior eye-chamber of rats using immunohistochemical technique. Mast cells and neurons were observed to be placed in close contact with exo- and endocrine cells. The detection of serotonin immunoreactive cells in the transplants not only shows that they are intrinsic to the pancreas itself but also establishes that they can survive in the anterior eye-chamber of rats unlike the acinar cells which degenerated in the first two weeks after transplantation.