Visualizing insulin vesicle neighborhoods in β cells by cryo-electron tomography

Zhang, X., Carter, S. D. , Singla, J., White, K. L., Butler, P. C., Stevens, R. C. and Jensen, G. J. (2020) Visualizing insulin vesicle neighborhoods in β cells by cryo-electron tomography. Science Advances, 6(50), eabc8258. (doi: 10.1126/sciadv.abc8258) (PMID:33298442) (PMCID:PMC7725471)

Abstract

Subcellular neighborhoods, comprising specific ratios of organelles and proteins, serve a multitude of biological functions and are of particular importance in secretory cells. However, the role of subcellular neighborhoods in insulin vesicle maturation is poorly understood. Here, we present single-cell multiple distinct tomogram acquisitions of β cells for in situ visualization of distinct subcellular neighborhoods that are involved in the insulin vesicle secretory pathway. We propose that these neighborhoods play an essential role in the specific function of cellular material. In the regions where we observed insulin vesicles, a measurable increase in both the fraction of cellular volume occupied by vesicles and the average size (diameter) of the vesicles was apparent as sampling moved from the area near the nucleus toward the plasma membrane. These findings describe the important role of the nanometer-scale organization of subcellular neighborhoods on insulin vesicle maturation.

• Item Type: Articles
• Additional Information: This work was supported by the USC Bridge Institute (R.C.S.) and NIH grant R35GM122588 to G.J.J.
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Carter, Dr Stephen
• Authors: Zhang, X., Carter, S. D., Singla, J., White, K. L., Butler, P. C., Stevens, R. C., and Jensen, G. J.
• College/School: College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Infection & Immunity; College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Infection & Immunity > Centre for Virus Research
• Journal Name: Science Advances
• Publisher: American Association for the Advancement of Science
• ISSN: 2375-2548
• ISSN (Online): 2375-2548
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2020 The Authors
• First Published: First published in Science Advances 6(50): eabc8258
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons License