Event Title
Nitrate and Type 1 Diabetes in Alligators
Faculty Mentor
Thea Edwards
Location
Hamilton Hall 116
Session
Session 2
Start Date
12-4-2014 9:30 AM
End Date
12-4-2014 10:30 AM
Description
Type 1 diabetes is a pancreatic disease leading to insufficient insulin production. Insulin facilitates uptake of glucose from the blood into cells. If inadequate amounts of insulin are produced, blood sugar levels rise, which damages organs. Type 1 diabetes has been linked epidemiologically to nitrate in drinking water. In our experiment, we tested the effects of different concentrations of nitrate on the development of betacells in alligator pancreas. Hatchling alligators were exposed to 0, 10, or 100ppm nitrate (NO3-N) added to the water in which they lived. Pancreas samples were fixed, sectioned and stained to mark nkx6.1, a protein marker for early betacell differentiation. Prevalence of nkx6.1-stained beta-cells was digitally quantified using Image J, and compared among alligators from different treatments.
Nitrate and Type 1 Diabetes in Alligators
Hamilton Hall 116
Type 1 diabetes is a pancreatic disease leading to insufficient insulin production. Insulin facilitates uptake of glucose from the blood into cells. If inadequate amounts of insulin are produced, blood sugar levels rise, which damages organs. Type 1 diabetes has been linked epidemiologically to nitrate in drinking water. In our experiment, we tested the effects of different concentrations of nitrate on the development of betacells in alligator pancreas. Hatchling alligators were exposed to 0, 10, or 100ppm nitrate (NO3-N) added to the water in which they lived. Pancreas samples were fixed, sectioned and stained to mark nkx6.1, a protein marker for early betacell differentiation. Prevalence of nkx6.1-stained beta-cells was digitally quantified using Image J, and compared among alligators from different treatments.