Pancreatic β-cell electrical activity and insulin secretion: of mice and men

Journal article

The pancreatic β-cell plays a key role in glucose homeostasis by secreting insulin, the only hormone capable of lowering the blood glucose concentration. Impaired insulin secretion results in the chronic hyperglycemia that characterizes type 2 diabetes (T2DM), which currently afflicts >450 million people worldwide. The healthy β-cell acts as a glucose sensor matching its output to the circulating glucose concentration. It does so via metabolically induced changes in electrical activity, which culminate in an increase in the cytoplasmic Ca2+ concentration and initiation of Ca2+-dependent exocytosis of insulin-containing secretory granules. Here, we review recent advances in our understanding of the β-cell transcriptome, electrical activity, and insulin exocytosis. We highlight salient differences between mouse and human β-cells, provide models of how the different ion channels contribute to their electrical activity and insulin secretion, and conclude by discussing how these processes become perturbed in T2DM.

Authors: Rorsman, P; Ashcroft, F

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: American Physiological Society
• Journal: Physiological reviews
• Volume: 98
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 117-214
• Publication date: 2017-12-06
• Acceptance date: 2017-06-18
• DOI: 10.1152/physrev.00008.2017
• EISSN: 1522-1210
• ISSN: 0031-9333
• Pmid: 29212789
• Language: English
• Keywords: calcium channels; insulin; humans; exocytosis; insulin-secreting cells; diabetes mellitus, type 2; animals; homeostasis; mice