Calcium and Metabolic Oscillations in Pancreatic Islets: Who's Driving the Bus?^*

ABSTRACT: Pancreatic islets exhibit bursting oscillations in response to elevated blood glucose. These oscillations are accompanied by oscillations in the free cytosolic Ca²⁺ concentration (Ca_c ), which drives pulses of insulin secretion. Both islet Ca²⁺ and metabolism oscillate, but there is some debate about their interrelationship. Recent experimental data show that metabolic oscillations in some cases persist after the addition of diazoxide (Dz), which opens K(ATP) channels, hyperpolarizing β-cells and preventing Ca²⁺ entry and Ca²⁺ oscillations. Further, in some islets in which metabolic oscillations were eliminated with Dz, increasing the cytosolic Ca²⁺ concentration by the addition of KCl could restart the metabol

SUBMITTER: Watts M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4331037 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature