Pancreatic Islet Alpha-Cells (PIAC)

The pancreatic islets or islets of Langerhans are the regions of the pancreas that contain its endocrine cells, discovered in 1869 by German pathological anatomist Paul Langerhans.

Alpha cells (more commonly alpha-cells or α-cells) are endocrine cells in the pancreatic islets of the pancreas. They make up to 20% of the human islet cells synthesizing and secreting the peptide hormone glucagon, which elevates the glucose levels in the blood. Beta cells (β cells) are a type of cell found in the pancreatic islets of the pancreas. They make up 65-80% of the cells in the islets.