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Probing β-Cell Biology in Space and Time

β-Cells in the islet of Langerhans have a central role in maintaining energy homeostasis. Understanding the physiology of β-cells and other islet cells requires a deep understanding of their structural and functional organization, their interaction with vessels and nerves, the layout of paracrine in...

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Autor principal: Arrojo e Drigo, Rafael
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: American Diabetes Association 2021
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8576506/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34593534
http://dx.doi.org/10.2337/dbi21-0008
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author Arrojo e Drigo, Rafael
author_facet Arrojo e Drigo, Rafael
author_sort Arrojo e Drigo, Rafael
collection PubMed
description β-Cells in the islet of Langerhans have a central role in maintaining energy homeostasis. Understanding the physiology of β-cells and other islet cells requires a deep understanding of their structural and functional organization, their interaction with vessels and nerves, the layout of paracrine interactions, and the relationship between subcellular compartments and protein complexes inside each cell. These elements are not static; they are dynamic and exert their biological actions at different scales of time. Therefore, scientists must be able to investigate (and visualize) short- and long-lived events within the pancreas and β-cells. Current technological advances in microscopy are able to bridge multiple spatiotemporal scales in biology to reveal the complexity and heterogeneity of β-cell biology. Here, I briefly discuss the historical discoveries that leveraged microscopes to establish the basis of β-cell anatomy and structure, the current imaging platforms that allow the study of islet and β-cell biology at multiple scales of resolution, and their challenges and implications. Lastly, I outline how the remarkable longevity of structural elements at different scales in biology, from molecules to cells to multicellular structures, could represent a previously unrecognized organizational pattern in developing and adult β-cells and pancreas biology.
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spelling pubmed-85765062021-11-19 Probing β-Cell Biology in Space and Time Arrojo e Drigo, Rafael Diabetes Perspectives in Diabetes β-Cells in the islet of Langerhans have a central role in maintaining energy homeostasis. Understanding the physiology of β-cells and other islet cells requires a deep understanding of their structural and functional organization, their interaction with vessels and nerves, the layout of paracrine interactions, and the relationship between subcellular compartments and protein complexes inside each cell. These elements are not static; they are dynamic and exert their biological actions at different scales of time. Therefore, scientists must be able to investigate (and visualize) short- and long-lived events within the pancreas and β-cells. Current technological advances in microscopy are able to bridge multiple spatiotemporal scales in biology to reveal the complexity and heterogeneity of β-cell biology. Here, I briefly discuss the historical discoveries that leveraged microscopes to establish the basis of β-cell anatomy and structure, the current imaging platforms that allow the study of islet and β-cell biology at multiple scales of resolution, and their challenges and implications. Lastly, I outline how the remarkable longevity of structural elements at different scales in biology, from molecules to cells to multicellular structures, could represent a previously unrecognized organizational pattern in developing and adult β-cells and pancreas biology. American Diabetes Association 2021-10 2021-09-27 /pmc/articles/PMC8576506/ /pubmed/34593534 http://dx.doi.org/10.2337/dbi21-0008 Text en © 2021 by the American Diabetes Association https://www.diabetesjournals.org/content/licenseReaders may use this article as long as the work is properly cited, the use is educational and not for profit, and the work is not altered. More information is available at https://www.diabetesjournals.org/content/license.
spellingShingle Perspectives in Diabetes
Arrojo e Drigo, Rafael
Probing β-Cell Biology in Space and Time
title Probing β-Cell Biology in Space and Time
title_full Probing β-Cell Biology in Space and Time
title_fullStr Probing β-Cell Biology in Space and Time
title_full_unstemmed Probing β-Cell Biology in Space and Time
title_short Probing β-Cell Biology in Space and Time
title_sort probing β-cell biology in space and time
topic Perspectives in Diabetes
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8576506/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34593534
http://dx.doi.org/10.2337/dbi21-0008
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