scholarly journals 3D FIB-SEM reconstruction of microtubule–organelle interaction in whole primary mouse β cells

2020 ◽  
Vol 220 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Andreas Müller ◽  
Deborah Schmidt ◽  
C. Shan Xu ◽  
Song Pang ◽  
Joyson Verner D’Costa ◽  
...  

Microtubules play a major role in intracellular trafficking of vesicles in endocrine cells. Detailed knowledge of microtubule organization and their relation to other cell constituents is crucial for understanding cell function. However, their role in insulin transport and secretion is under debate. Here, we use FIB-SEM to image islet β cells in their entirety with unprecedented resolution. We reconstruct mitochondria, Golgi apparati, centrioles, insulin secretory granules, and microtubules of seven β cells, and generate a comprehensive spatial map of microtubule–organelle interactions. We find that microtubules form nonradial networks that are predominantly not connected to either centrioles or endomembranes. Microtubule number and length, but not microtubule polymer density, vary with glucose stimulation. Furthermore, insulin secretory granules are enriched near the plasma membrane, where they associate with microtubules. In summary, we provide the first 3D reconstructions of complete microtubule networks in primary mammalian cells together with evidence regarding their importance for insulin secretory granule positioning and thus their supportive role in insulin secretion.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andreas Müller ◽  
Deborah Schmidt ◽  
C. Shan Xu ◽  
Song Pang ◽  
Joyson Verner D’Costa ◽  
...  

Microtubules play a major role in intracellular trafficking of cargo vesicles in endocrine cells and detailed knowledge of the microtubule network organization and its relation to other cell constituents is crucial for understanding primary cell function. However, their role in insulin transport and secretion is currently under debate. Here, we use Fib-Sem to image insulin secreting pancreatic islet beta cells in their entirety at an unprecedented resolution. We reconstruct all mitochondria, Golgi apparati, centrioles, insulin secretory granules and microtubules of seven beta cells, and generate a comprehensive spatial map of microtubule-organelle interactions. We find that microtubules form non-radial networks that are predominantly not connected to either centrioles or endomembranes. Moreover, microtubule number and length, but not microtubule density, vary with glucose stimulation. Furthermore, we show that insulin secretory granules are enriched near the plasma membrane where they associate with microtubules. In summary, we provide the first three-dimensional reconstructions of complete microtubule networks in primary mammalian cells together with evidence regarding their importance for insulin secretory granule positioning and thus supportive role in insulin secretion.


Metabolites ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 515
Author(s):  
Mark Germanos ◽  
Andy Gao ◽  
Matthew Taper ◽  
Belinda Yau ◽  
Melkam A. Kebede

The pancreatic β-cell is purpose-built for the production and secretion of insulin, the only hormone that can remove glucose from the bloodstream. Insulin is kept inside miniature membrane-bound storage compartments known as secretory granules (SGs), and these specialized organelles can readily fuse with the plasma membrane upon cellular stimulation to release insulin. Insulin is synthesized in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) as a biologically inactive precursor, proinsulin, along with several other proteins that will also become members of the insulin SG. Their coordinated synthesis enables synchronized transit through the ER and Golgi apparatus for congregation at the trans-Golgi network, the initiating site of SG biogenesis. Here, proinsulin and its constituents enter the SG where conditions are optimized for proinsulin processing into insulin and subsequent insulin storage. A healthy β-cell is continually generating SGs to supply insulin in vast excess to what is secreted. Conversely, in type 2 diabetes (T2D), the inability of failing β-cells to secrete may be due to the limited biosynthesis of new insulin. Factors that drive the formation and maturation of SGs and thus the production of insulin are therefore critical for systemic glucose control. Here, we detail the formative hours of the insulin SG from the luminal perspective. We do this by mapping the journey of individual members of the SG as they contribute to its genesis.


2021 ◽  
Vol 118 (37) ◽  
pp. e2107665118
Author(s):  
Elisabeth Kemter ◽  
Andreas Müller ◽  
Martin Neukam ◽  
Anna Ivanova ◽  
Nikolai Klymiuk ◽  
...  

β cells produce, store, and secrete insulin upon elevated blood glucose levels. Insulin secretion is a highly regulated process. The probability for insulin secretory granules to undergo fusion with the plasma membrane or being degraded is correlated with their age. However, the molecular features and stimuli connected to this behavior have not yet been fully understood. Furthermore, our understanding of β cell function is mostly derived from studies of ex vivo isolated islets in rodent models. To overcome this translational gap and study insulin secretory granule turnover in vivo, we have generated a transgenic pig model with the SNAP-tag fused to insulin. We demonstrate the correct targeting and processing of the tagged insulin and normal glycemic control of the pig model. Furthermore, we show specific single- and dual-color granular labeling of in vivo–labeled pig pancreas. This model may provide unprecedented insights into the in vivo insulin secretory granule behavior in an animal close to humans.


1981 ◽  
Vol 96 (1) ◽  
pp. 87-92 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Andersson ◽  
C. Betsholtz ◽  
B. Hellman

Abstract. Glucose stimulation of insulin release is supposed to result from depolarization of the pancreatic β-cells with subsequent influx of Ca2+. Isolated islets from non-inbred ob/ob-mice were employed for elucidating whether the glucose effects on the β-cell handling of Ca2+ could be simulated by the depolarization evoked by excess of K+. Addition of 25 mm K+ was as effective as 20 mm glucose in stimulating the intracellular uptake of 45Ca. In both instances the additional amounts of incorporated 45Ca appeared in the mitochondria and the secretory granules. When analysing the washout pattern for 45Ca it was evident that the effects of raising K+ differed from those evoked by glucose. Whereas glucose inhibited 45Ca efflux during perifusion with Ca2+-deficient medium the addition of K+ resulted in a slight stimulation. Furthermore, the 45Ca incorporated in response to K+ was more readily mobilised.


1979 ◽  
Vol 90 (4) ◽  
pp. 624-636 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bo Hellman

ABSTRACT Glucose is believed to stimulate incorporation of calcium into the secretory granules of the pancreatic β-cells. The mechanism of the glucose-stimulated accumulation of calcium in the granule pool was evaluated by measuring fluxes of 45Ca in β-cell-rich pancreatic islets microdissected from ob/ob-mice. The incorporation of lanthanum-nondisplaceable 45Ca in response to glucose differed from both the basal uptake and that seen in response to phosphate in being suppressed by 10 μm antimycin A, 0.3 mm 2,4-dinitrophenol or 1 mm N-ethylmaleimide. Exposure to each of these metabolic inhibitors also resulted in a protracted efflux of the glucose-sensitive 45Ca under conditions when neither the 45Ca incorporated in the presence of 3 mm glucose nor in response to phosphate was significantly affected. The glucose-stimulated intracellular 45Ca existed in a state allowing it to be washed out with the ionophore A-23187. The results suggest that the glucose-stimulated incorporation of calcium into the secretory granules is mediated by transport against a concentration gradient into the granule sac.


2020 ◽  
Vol 295 (27) ◽  
pp. 8901-8911 ◽  
Author(s):  
Belinda Yau ◽  
Lori Hays ◽  
Cassandra Liang ◽  
D. Ross Laybutt ◽  
Helen E. Thomas ◽  
...  

Within the pancreatic β-cells, insulin secretory granules (SGs) exist in functionally distinct pools, displaying variations in motility as well as docking and fusion capability. Current therapies that increase insulin secretion do not consider the existence of these distinct SG pools. Accordingly, these approaches are effective only for a short period, with a worsening of glycemia associated with continued decline in β-cell function. Insulin granule age is underappreciated as a determinant for why an insulin granule is selected for secretion and may explain why newly synthesized insulin is preferentially secreted from β-cells. Here, using a novel fluorescent timer protein, we aimed to investigate the preferential secretion model of insulin secretion and identify how granule aging is affected by variation in the β-cell environment, such as hyperglycemia. We demonstrate the use of a fluorescent timer construct, syncollin-dsRedE5TIMER, which changes its fluorescence from green to red over 18 h, in both microscopy and fluorescence-assisted organelle-sorting techniques. We confirm that the SG-targeting construct localizes to insulin granules in β-cells and does not interfere with normal insulin SG behavior. We visualize insulin SG aging behavior in MIN6 and INS1 β-cell lines and in primary C57BL/6J mouse and nondiabetic human islet cells. Finally, we separated young and old insulin SGs, revealing that preferential secretion of younger granules occurs in glucose-stimulated insulin secretion. We also show that SG population age is modulated by the β-cell environment in vivo in the db/db mouse islets and ex vivo in C57BL/6J islets exposed to different glucose environments.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elisabeth Kemter ◽  
Andreas Müller ◽  
Martin Neukam ◽  
Anna Ivanova ◽  
Nikolai Klymiuk ◽  
...  

β-cells produce, store and secrete insulin upon elevated blood glucose levels. Insulin secretion is a highly regulated process. The probability for insulin secretory granules to undergo fusion with the plasma membrane or being degraded is correlated with their age. However, the molecular features and stimuli connected to this behavior have not yet been fully understood. Furthermore, our understanding of β-cell function is mostly derived from studies of ex vivo isolated islets and/or rodent models. To overcome this translational gap and study insulin secretory granule turnover in vivo, we have generated a transgenic pig model with the SNAP-tag fused to insulin. We demonstrate the correct targeting and processing of the tagged insulin and normal glycemic control of the pig model. Furthermore, we show specific single- and dual-color granular labeling of in vivo labeled pig pancreas. This model may provide unprecedented insights into the in vivo insulin secretory granule behavior in an animal close to humans.


Genetics ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 215 (2) ◽  
pp. 435-447 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sihui Z. Yang ◽  
Jill Wildonger

Microtubule-organizing centers often play a central role in organizing the cellular microtubule networks that underlie cell function. In neurons, microtubules in axons and dendrites have distinct polarities. Dendrite-specific Golgi “outposts,” in particular multicompartment outposts, have emerged as regulators of acentrosomal microtubule growth, raising the question of whether outposts contribute to establishing or maintaining the overall polarity of the dendritic microtubule cytoskeleton. Using a combination of genetic approaches and live imaging in a Drosophila model, we found that dendritic microtubule polarity is unaffected by eliminating known regulators of Golgi-dependent microtubule organization including the cis-Golgi matrix protein GM130, the fly AKAP450 ortholog pericentrin-like protein, and centrosomin. This indicates that Golgi outposts are not essential for the formation or maintenance of a dendrite-specific cytoskeleton. However, the overexpression of GM130, which promotes the formation of ectopic multicompartment units, is sufficient to alter dendritic microtubule polarity. Axonal microtubule polarity is similarly disrupted by the presence of ectopic multicompartment Golgi outposts. Notably, multicompartment outposts alter microtubule polarity independently of microtubule nucleation mediated by the γ-tubulin ring complex. Thus, although Golgi outposts are not essential to dendritic microtubule polarity, altering their organization correlates with changes to microtubule polarity. Based on these data, we propose that the organization of Golgi outposts is carefully regulated to ensure proper dendritic microtubule polarity.


Cells ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 1395 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Becker ◽  
Marina Leone ◽  
Felix Engel

Distinctly organized microtubule networks contribute to the function of differentiated cell types such as neurons, epithelial cells, skeletal myotubes, and cardiomyocytes. In striated (i.e., skeletal and cardiac) muscle cells, the nuclear envelope acts as the dominant microtubule-organizing center (MTOC) and the function of the centrosome—the canonical MTOC of mammalian cells—is attenuated, a common feature of differentiated cell types. We summarize the mechanisms known to underlie MTOC formation at the nuclear envelope, discuss the significance of the nuclear envelope MTOC for muscle function and cell cycle progression, and outline potential mechanisms of centrosome attenuation.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fatmanur Tiryaki ◽  
Jovana Deretic ◽  
Elif Nur Firat-Karalar

Centrioles and cilia are conserved, microtubule-based structures critical for cell function and development. Their structural and functional defects cause cancer and developmental disorders. How microtubules are organized into ordered structures by microtubule-associated proteins (MAPs) and tubulin modifications is best understood during mitosis but is largely unexplored for the centrioles and the ciliary axoneme, which are composed of remarkably stable microtubules that maintain their length at steady state. In particular, we know little about the identity of the centriolar and ciliary MAPs and how they work together during the assembly and maintenance of the cilium and centriole. Here, we identified Enkurin domain containing 1 (ENKD1) as a component of the centriole wall and the axoneme in mammalian cells, and showed that it has extensive proximity interactions with these compartments and MAPs. Using in vitro and cellular assays, we found that ENKD1 is a new MAP that promotes microtubule polymerization and regulates microtubule organization and stability. Consistently, overexpression of ENKD1 increased tubulin polymerization and acetylation and disrupted microtubule organization. Cells depleted for ENKD1 were defective in ciliary length and content regulation and failed to respond to Hedgehog pathway activation. Together, our results establish ENKD1 as a new centriolar and ciliary MAP that regulate primary cilium structure and function, and advances our understanding of the functional and regulatory relationship between MAPs and the primary cilium.


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