Isolation and convulsivant effect of the “insulin-like” protein obtained from the exocrine pancreas of Bradypus tridactylus L.

Trend Toward Individualization of the Endocrine and Exocrine Portions of the Giant Anteater Pancreas (Myrmecophaga Tridactyla, Xenarthra)

“…Peculiar characteristics regarding the cellular composition and endocrinology of the pancreas have been described for the sloth Bradypus tridactylus , in which a pancreatic insulin‐like protein with low electrophoretic mobility and a high molecular weight that was also present in the pancreatic juice was identified (Coutinho et al, ). These findings suggest that representatives of this order exhibit interesting variations that can be used and exploited as new experimental models.…”

“…Small masses of endocrine tissue known as the pancreatic islets or islets of Langerhans (2% of the pancreatic mass) are formed by clusters of cells arranged in irregular strings, separated by capillaries, and are scattered throughout the pancreatic parenchyma (Kierszenbaum, ). An experiment conducted with the sloth Bradypus tridactylus revealed a pancreatic insulin‐like protein fraction with low electrophoretic mobility and high molecular weight that was also present in the pancreatic juice; insulin was detected by radioimmunoassay in the basal pancreatic juice after stimulation (Coutinho et al, ).…”

“…Glucagon‐ and insulin‐immunoreactive cells are the most prominent cell type in the islets, while somatostatin‐ and serotonin‐immunoreactive cells are sparsely distributed. The most striking feature of the sloth pancreas is the high frequency of glucagon‐immunoreactive cells, as these cells are present in much smaller numbers in the pancreas of humans and other species conventionally used as experimental models (Coutinho et al, ; Da Mota et al, ).…”