X-gal staining of pancreata from Axin2+/lacZ (A–E) or BatGAL embryos (F–J) and subsequent immunoperoxidase detection of glucagon (glc, A–D and F–I) or insulin (ins, E and J) on paraffin sections. The dashed red line in A,B,F,G demarcates the outer margin of the pancreatic epithelium. At e10.5, β-galactosidase (β-gal) activity is predominantly found in the pancreatic epithelium, but occasional β-gal+ cells are also detected in the surrounding mesenchyme of both Axin2+/lacZ (A) and BatGAL embryos (F). Some overlap between β-gal and glucagon expression is observed (inset in A,B). At e13.5, mesenchymal cells are uniformly β-gal+ in Axin2+/lacZ mice (B), while scattered β-gal activity is detected throughout the mesenchyme of BatGAL mice (G). In both Axin2+/lacZ and BatGAL embryos, pancreatic epithelial cells are rarely β-gal+ at e13.5, and those that are occasionally express glucagons (inset in B,G). With the exception of occasional epithelial cells, some of which are glucagon/β-gal co-positive in Axin2+/lacZ mice (inset in C,H), the predominantly mesenchymal location of β-gal activity persists at e15.5 in both reporter strains (C,H). At e18.5, β-gal activity is largely absent from glucagon+ (D,I) and insulin+ cells (E,J) and predominantly localized to the pancreatic ducts in both Axin2+/lacZ and BatGAL embryos (arrowheads in D,I). DP, dorsal pancreatic epithelium; i, islet. Scale bar = 50 µm.