ArticleDiabetologia2024
Capillary contact points determine beta cell polarity, control secretion and are disrupted in the db/db mouse model of diabetes.
Article in Diabetologia, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed.
- Applications of Stem Cell-Derived Islets and Emerging Experimental Platforms to Understand Diabetes.Diabetes · 2026Review
- Heterogeneous expression patterns of the T2D-associated kinesin-4 KIF21A in pancreatic islet endocrine cells.Molecular metabolism · 2026Article
- Engineering the oxygen microenvironment for pancreatic islet transplants.NPJ Regenerative medicine · 2026Review
- Directed insulin secretion from beta cells occurs at cortical sites devoid of microtubules at the edges of ELKS/LL5β patches.Molecular biology of the cell · 2025Article
- Scaffold-free endocrine tissue engineering: role of islet organization and implications in type 1 diabetes.BMC endocrine disorders · 2025Review
- Directed insulin secretion from beta cells occurs at cortical sites devoid of microtubules at the edges of ELKS/LL5β patches.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors.
Funding
Abstract
aims/hypothesisAlmost all beta cells contact one capillary and insulin granule fusion is targeted to this region. However, there are reports of beta cells contacting more than one capillary. We therefore set out to determine the proportion of beta cells with multiple contacts and the impact of this on cell structure and function.
methodsWe used pancreatic slices in mice and humans to better maintain cell and islet structure than in isolated islets. Cell structure was assayed using immunofluorescence and 3D confocal microscopy. Live-cell two-photon microscopy was used to map granule fusion events in response to glucose stimulation.
resultsWe found that 36% and 22% of beta cells in islets from mice and humans, respectively, have separate contact with two capillaries. These contacts establish a distinct form of cell polarity with multiple basal regions. Both capillary contact points are enriched in presynaptic scaffold proteins, and both are a target for insulin granule fusion. Cells with two capillary contact points have a greater capillary contact area and secrete more, with analysis showing that, independent of the number of contact points, increased contact area is correlated with increased granule fusion. Using db/db mice as a model for type 2 diabetes, we observed changes in islet capillary organisation that significantly reduced total islet capillary surface area, and reduced area of capillary contact in single beta cells. CONCLUSIONS/
interpretationBeta cells that contact two capillaries are a significant subpopulation of beta cells within the islet. They have a distinct form of cell polarity and both contact points are specialised for secretion. The larger capillary contact area of cells with two contact points is correlated with increased secretion. In the db/db mouse, changes in capillary structure impact beta cell capillary contact, implying that this is a new factor contributing to disease progression.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What Socratic holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.