Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Research Highlight
  • Published:

ISLET BIOLOGY

Pulsatile GABA secretion by β-cells

Nature Reviews Endocrinology volume 16, page 69 (2020)Cite this article

Subjects

In islets of Langerhans, the neurotransmitter γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) acts as a paracrine and autocrine signal that regulates hormone release; however, the mechanisms by which β-cells secrete GABA are unclear. A study by Steinunn Baekkeskov, Alejandro Caicedo, Edward Phelps and colleagues highlights a new mechanism for pulsatile GABA secretion from cytosolic pools in β-cells.

“A major challenge was to determine GABA release from human islets in real time,” explains Caicedo. “To this end, we used a method based on sniffer cells, which express receptors for GABA that, when activated, increase Ca2+ levels inside the cell.” Using the sniffer cells, the team were able to show that GABA is secreted from islets in a pulsatile fashion. Moreover, secretion depended on GABA content; that is, decreasing GABA levels decreased secretion and vice versa.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on SpringerLink
  • Instant access to the full article PDF.

USD 39.95

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

References

Original article

  • Menegaz, D. et al. Mechanism and effects of pulsatile GABA secretion from cytosolic pools in the human beta cell. Nat. Metab. 1, 1110–1126 (2019)

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Nature Reviews Endocrinology http://www.nature.com/nrendo/

    Shimona Starling

Authors
  1. Shimona Starling
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Shimona Starling.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Starling, S. Pulsatile GABA secretion by β-cells. Nat Rev Endocrinol 16, 69 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41574-019-0306-3

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Version of record:

  • Issue date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41574-019-0306-3

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing