Document Type
Article
Original Publication Date
1999
Journal/Book/Conference Title
The Biophysical Journal
Volume
76
Issue
3
First Page
1423
Last Page
1435
DOI of Original Publication
10.1016/S0006-3495(99)77303-0
Date of Submission
February 2015
Abstract
Abstract
Glucose triggers bursting activity in pancreatic islets, which mediates the Ca2+ uptake that triggers insulin secretion. Aside from the channel mechanism responsible for bursting, which remains unsettled, it is not clear whether bursting is an endogenous property of individual β-cells or requires an electrically coupled islet. While many workers report stochastic firing or quasibursting in single cells, a few reports describe single-cell bursts much longer (minutes) than those of islets (15–60 s). We studied the behavior of single cells systematically to help resolve this issue. Perforated patch recordings were made from single mouseβ-cells or hamster insulinoma tumor cells in current clamp at 30–35°C, using standard K+-rich pipette solution and external solutions containing 11.1 mM glucose. Dynamic clamp was used to apply artificial KATP and Ca2+ channel conductances to cells in current clamp to assess the role of Ca2+ and KATPchannels in single cell firing. The electrical activity we observed in mouse β-cells was heterogeneous, with three basic patterns encountered: 1) repetitive fast spiking; 2) fast spikes superimposed on brief (<5 s) plateaus; or 3) periodic plateaus of longer duration (10–20 s) with small spikes. Pattern 2 was most similar to islet bursting but was significantly faster. Burst plateaus lasting on the order of minutes were only observed when recordings were made from cell clusters. Adding gCa to cells increased the depolarizing drive of bursting and lengthened the plateaus, whereas adding gKATP hyperpolarized the cells and lengthened the silent phases. Adding gCa and gKATP together did not cancel out their individual effects but could induce robust bursts that resembled those of islets, and with increased period. These added currents had no slow components, indicating that the mechanisms of physiological bursting are likely to be endogenous to single β-cells. It is unlikely that the fast bursting (class 2) was due to oscillations in gKATPbecause it persisted in 100 μM tolbutamide. The ability of small exogenous currents to modify β-cell firing patterns supports the hypothesis that single cells contain the necessary mechanisms for bursting but often fail to exhibit this behavior because of heterogeneity of cell parameters.
Rights
From The Biophysical Journal, Kinard, T.A., de Vries, G., Sherman, A., et al., Modulation of the Bursting Properties of Single Mouse Pancreatic β-Cells by Artificial Conductances, Vol. 76, Page 1423. Copyright © 1999 The Biophysical Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. Reprinted with permission.
Is Part Of
VCU Pharmacology and Toxicology Publications
Comments
Originally published at http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0006-3495(99)77303-0
Under an Elsevier user license