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Cellular communication in insulin secretion ex vivo and in vivo
Author(s) -
Piston David W.
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.22.1_supplement.253.4
Subject(s) - islet , biology , insulin , glucose homeostasis , microbiology and biotechnology , secretion , in vivo , homeostasis , function (biology) , endocrinology , medicine , insulin resistance
The islet of Langerhans is the functional unit responsible for glucose‐stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS), and thus plays a key role in blood glucose homeostasis. The importance of the islet is demonstrated by the proven ability of islet transplants to reverse Type I diabetes pathologies in human patients. Over the last 10 years, we have been interested in understanding the multicellular mechanisms of islet function, and their role in the regulation of blood glucose under normal and pathological conditions. In many ways, the islet appears to function as a syncytium, which exhibits synchronous behavior of membrane action potentials, Ca2+ oscillations, and pulsatile insulin secretion across all beta‐cells in the islet. In other ways, the islet works as individual cells, especially in the regulation of gene transcription. Using our unique quantitative optical imaging methods and novel microfluidic devices, the dynamics of these molecular mechanisms can be followed quantitatively in living cells within intact islets. These investigations utilize transgenic and tissue‐specific knock‐out mouse models with demonstrated phenotypes, as well as traditional biochemical and molecular biological approaches.