Structure, interaction and nervous connectivity of beta cell primary cilia
Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: Primary cilia are sensory organelles present in many cell types, partaking in various signaling processes. Primary cilia of pancreatic beta cells play pivotal roles in paracrine signaling and their dysfunction is linked to diabetes. Yet, the structural basis for their functions is unclear. We present three-dimensional reconstructions of beta cell primary cilia by electron and expansion microscopy. These cilia are spatially confined within deep ciliary pockets or narrow spaces between cells, lack motility components and display an unstructured axoneme organization. Furthermore, we observe a plethora of beta cell cilia-cilia and cilia-cell interactions with other islet and non-islet cells. Most remarkably, we have identified and characterized axo-ciliary synapses between beta cell cilia and the cholinergic islet innervation. These findings highlight the beta cell cilia’s role in islet connectivity, pointing at their function in integrating islet intrinsic and extrinsic signals and contribute to understanding their significance in health and diabetes.
Source: Nature Communications
Authors: Andreas Müller, Nikolai Klena, Song Pang, Leticia Elizabeth Galicia Garcia, Oleksandra Topcheva, Solange Aurrecoechea Duran, Davud Sulaymankhil, Monika Seliskar, Hassan Mziaut, Eyke Schöniger, Daniela Friedland, Nicole Kipke, Susanne Kretschmar, Carla Münster, Jürgen Weitz, Marius Distler, Thomas Kurth, Deborah Schmidt, Harald F. Hess, C. Shan Xu, Gaia Pigino, Michele Solimena
Institutions: Helmholtz Munich, German Center for Diabetes Research, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, Paul Langerhans Institute Dresden, Technische Universität Dresden, Human Technopole, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Janelia Research Campus, Yale University, Physics of Life, Cooper Union, Center for Molecular and Cellular Bioengineering, Max Delbrück Center
Language: English
Subfield: Genetics
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $6,790
Funders: Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation United States of America, European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations, European Commission, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, Agence Nationale de la Recherche, German-Israeli Foundation for Scientific Research and Development, Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung, Technische Universität Dresden, Uppsala Universitet
Awards: G2176557456, G2975900969, G434337789, Assessing risk and progression of prediabetes and type 2 diabetes to enable disease modification - Sofia ref.: 115881, Translational approaches to disease modifying therapy of type 1 diabetes: an innovative approach towards understanding and arresting type 1 diabetes – Sofia ref.: 115797, G7033908404, G7579407791, G7696965656, G7717891192, G8041914798, G8312218698
OpenAlex ID: W4403733164