Beta-cell hubs maintain Ca²⁺ oscillations in human and mouse islet simulations.

ABSTRACT: Islet β-cells are responsible for secreting all circulating insulin in response to rising plasma glucose concentrations. These cells are a phenotypically diverse population that express great functional heterogeneity. In mice, certain β-cells (termed 'hubs') have been shown to be crucial for dictating the islet response to high glucose, with inhibition of these hub cells abolishing the coordinated Ca²⁺ oscillations necessary for driving insulin secretion. These β-cell hubs were found to be highly metabolic and susceptible to pro-inflammatory and glucolipotoxic insults. In this study, we explored the importance of hub cells in human by constructing mathematical models of Ca²⁺ activity in human islets. Our simulations revealed that hubs dictate the coordinated Ca²⁺

SUBMITTER: Lei CL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6113907 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature