Critical and Supercritical Spatiotemporal Calcium Dynamics in Beta Cells.

ABSTRACT: A coordinated functioning of beta cells within pancreatic islets is mediated by oscillatory membrane depolarization and subsequent changes in cytoplasmic calcium concentration. While gap junctions allow for intraislet information exchange, beta cells within islets form complex syncytia that are intrinsically nonlinear and highly heterogeneous. To study spatiotemporal calcium dynamics within these syncytia, we make use of computational modeling and confocal high-speed functional multicellular imaging. We show that model predictions are in good agreement with experimental data, especially if a high degree of heterogeneity in the intercellular coupling term is assumed. In particular, during the first few minutes after stimulation, the probability distribution of calcium wave sizes is characte

SUBMITTER: Gosak M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5743929 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature