Mouse pancreatic islet macrophages use locally released ATP to monitor beta cell activity.

ABSTRACT:

Aims/hypothesis

Tissue-resident macrophages sense the microenvironment and respond by producing signals that act locally to maintain a stable tissue state. It is now known that pancreatic islets contain their own unique resident macrophages, which have been shown to promote proliferation of the insulin-secreting beta cell. However, it is unclear how beta cells communicate with islet-resident macrophages. Here we hypothesised that islet macrophages sense changes in islet activity by detecting signals derived from beta cells.

Methods

To investigate how islet-resident macrophages respond to cues from the microenvironment, we generated mice expressing a genetically encoded Ca²⁺ indicator in myeloid cells. We produced living pancreatic slices from these mice and used t

SUBMITTER: Weitz JR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5868749 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature