Alpha cells

Author: Christina Loukopoulou, MSc • Reviewer: Dimitrios Mytilinaios, MD, PhD
Last reviewed: May 16, 2024
Reading time: 2 minutes

Alpha, or α, cells are one of four major endocrine cell types found in adult pancreatic islets (of Langerhans), constituting 15-20% of the islet cells.

Alpha cells secrete the hormone glucagon in response to low concentrations of glucose in the blood.

Histologically, a-cells are larger than b-cells which in turn are responsible for the secretion of insulin. Alpha cells are most commonly distributed peripherally in the pancreatic islet. Their endocrine secretory granules are uniform in size and consist of a larger dark center enveloped by a thin halo.

Terminology	English: Alpha cells Synonyms: a-cells, α-cells
Definition	Alpha, or α, cells are one of four major endocrine cell types found in adult pancreatic islets (of Langerhans).
Function	Glucagon secretion in response to hypoglycemic conditions

Want to learn more about the exocrine and endocrine components of the pancreas? Then dive straight into the following study unit:

Sources

All content published on Kenhub is reviewed by medical and anatomy experts. The information we provide is grounded on academic literature and peer-reviewed research. Kenhub does not provide medical advice. You can learn more about our content creation and review standards by reading our content quality guidelines.

Brooks, E. P. and Sussel, L. (2023). Not the second fiddle: α cell development, identity, and function in health and diabetes. Journal of Endocrinology, 258(2), e220297.

Gromada, J., Franklin, I., Wollheim, C.B. (2007). α-cells of the endocrine pancreas: 35 years of research but the enigma remains. Endocrine Reviews, 28, 1(1),pp. 84–116.

Moore, K. L., Dalley, A. F. and Agur, A. (2017). Clinically oriented anatomy (8th ed.). Lippincott Williams and Wilkins.

Ross, M. H. Pawlina, W. (2011). Histology : a text and atlas : with correlated cell and molecular biology (6th ed.). Wolters Kluwer/Lippincott Williams & Wilkins Health.

Standring, S. (2016). Gray's Anatomy (41st ed.). Edinburgh: Elsevier Churchill Livingstone.

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