Objective: Islets from the same pancreas show remarkable variability in glucose sensitivity. While mitochondrial respiration is essential for glucose-stimulated insulin secretion, little is known regarding heterogeneity in mitochondrial function at the individual islet level. This is due in part to a lack of high-throughput and non-invasive methods for detecting single islet function.
Methods: We have developed a novel non-invasive, high-throughput methodology capable of assessing mitochondrial respiration in large-sized individual islets using the XF96 analyzer (Agilent Technologies).
Results: By increasing measurement sensitivity, we have reduced the minimal size of mouse and human islets needed to assess mitochondrial respiration to single large islets of >35,000 μm2 area (∼210 μm diameter). In addition, we have measured heterogeneous glucose-stimulated mitochondrial respiration among individual human and mouse islets from the same pancreas, allowing population analyses of islet mitochondrial function for the first time.
Conclusions: We have developed a novel methodology capable of analyzing mitochondrial function in large-sized individual islets. By highlighting islet functional heterogeneity, we hope this methodology can significantly advance islet research.
Keywords: Glucose; Islets; Mitochondria; Respirometry.
Copyright © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier GmbH.. All rights reserved.