Vincent S R, Hökfelt T, Wu J Y, Elde R P, Morgan L M, Kimmel J R
Neuroendocrinology. 1983;36(3):197-204. doi: 10.1159/000123456.
gamma-Amino butyric acid (GABA) is a major inhibitory neurotransmitter in the mammalian brain. In the present study the indirect immunofluorescence technique was employed to localize the GABA-synthesizing enzyme glutamate decarboxylase, and the GABA-metabolizing enzyme GABA-transaminase within the rat pancreas. Both enzymes were found to occur only in the beta-cells of the islets of Langerhans. The other endocrine cell types, the exocrine tissue and the nervous elements in the pancreas did not contain either enzyme. Animals treated with the beta-cell toxins streptozotocin or alloxan showed a loss of immunoreactive cells in the islets. The results provide morphological evidence of the coexistence of GABA and insulin in the beta-cells of the endocrine pancreas.
γ-氨基丁酸（GABA）是哺乳动物大脑中的一种主要抑制性神经递质。在本研究中，采用间接免疫荧光技术在大鼠胰腺中定位GABA合成酶谷氨酸脱羧酶和GABA代谢酶GABA转氨酶。发现这两种酶仅存在于胰岛的β细胞中。胰腺中的其他内分泌细胞类型、外分泌组织和神经成分均不含有这两种酶。用β细胞毒素链脲佐菌素或四氧嘧啶处理的动物，胰岛中免疫反应性细胞减少。这些结果为内分泌胰腺β细胞中GABA和胰岛素共存提供了形态学证据。
