Avtor/Urednik		Podobnik, Boris; Korošak, Dean; Skelin, Maša; Stožer, Andraž; Dolenšek, Jurij; Rupnik, Marjan; Ivanov, Plamen Ch.; Holme, P.; Jusup, Marko
Naslov		[Beta]-cells operate collectively to help maintain glucose homeostasis
Tip		članek
Vol. in št.		Letnik 118, št. 10
Leto izdaje		2020
Obseg		str. 2588-2595
ISSN		1542-0086 - Biophysical journal
Jezik		eng
Abstrakt		Residing in the islets of Langerhans in the pancreas, [beta]-cells contribute to glucose homeostasis by managing the body's insulin supply. Although it has been acknowledged that healthy [beta]-cells engage in heavy cell-to-cell communication to perform their homeostatic function, the exact role and effects of such communication remain partly understood. We offer a novel perspective on the subject in the form of (i) a dynamical network model that faithfully mimics fast calcium oscillations in response to above-threshold glucose stimulation and (ii) empirical data analysis that reveals a qualitative shift in the cross-correlation structure of measured signals below and above the threshold glucose concentration. Combined together, these results point to a glucose-induced transition in [beta]-cell activity thanks to increasing coordination through gap-junctional signaling and paracrine interactions. Our data and the model further suggest how the conservation of entire cell-cell conductance, observed in coupled but not uncoupled [beta]-cells, emerges as a collective phenomenon. An overall implication is that improving the ability to monitor [beta]-cell signaling should offer means to better understand the pathogenesis of diabetes mellitus.
Deskriptorji		Islets of Langerhans Pancreas physiology physiology