Two-Photon Dye Cocktail for Dual-Color 3D Imaging of Pancreatic Beta and Alpha Cells in Live Islets

Insulin-secreting beta cells together with glucagon-producing alpha cells play an essential role in maintaining the optimal blood glucose level in the body, so the development of selective probes for imaging of these cell types in live islets is highly desired. Herein we report the development of a 2-glucosamine-based two-photon fluorescent probe, TP-β, that is suitable for imaging of beta cells in live pancreatic islets from mice. Flow cytometry studies confirmed that TP-β is suitable for isolation of primary beta cells. Moreover, two-photon imaging of TP-β-stained pancreatic islets showed brightly stained beta cells in live islets. Insulin enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays revealed that TP-β has no effect on glucose-stimulated insulin secretion from the stained islet. Finally, to develop a more convenient islet imaging application, we combined our recently published alpha-cell-selective probe TP-α with TP-β to make a "TP islet cocktail". This unique dye cocktail enabled single excitation (820 nm) and simultaneous dual-color imaging of alpha cells (green) and beta cells (red) in live pancreatic islets. This robust TP islet cocktail may serve as a valuable tool for basic diabetic studies.