Microvascular Homeostasis Is Compromised in Pancreatic Islets in a Mouse Model of β-Cell Loss and Low-Grade Inflammation

Pericyte dysfunction is an early event in type 1 diabetes in humans, but how it affects islet microvascular homeostasis in vivo is unknown. We sought to determine whether vascular integrity and blood flow regulation in islets were impaired in a model of partial β-cell loss and inflammation. Islet capillaries lost functional pericyte coverage shortly after low-dose streptozotocin, compromising vascular stability and local control of blood flow. Strategies that preserve vascular niches in islets could be of important therapeutic potential.