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Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America logoLink to Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
. 1995 Oct 10;92(21):9608–9612. doi: 10.1073/pnas.92.21.9608

Detection of exocytosis at individual pancreatic beta cells by amperometry at a chemically modified microelectrode.

L Huang 1, H Shen 1, M A Atkinson 1, R T Kennedy 1
PMCID: PMC40851  PMID: 7568182

Abstract

Amperometry at a carbon fiber microelectrode modified with a composite of ruthenium oxide and cyanoruthenate was used to monitor chemical secretions of single pancreatic beta cells from rats and humans. When the insulin secretagogues glucose, tolbutamide, and K+ were applied to the cell, a series of randomly occurring current spikes was observed. The current spikes were shown to be due to the detection of chemical substances secreted from the cell. Chromatography showed that the primary secreted substance detected by the electrode was insulin. The current spikes were strongly dependent on external Ca2+, had an average area that was independent of the stimulation method, and had an area distribution which corresponded to the distribution of vesicle sizes in beta cells. It was concluded that the spikes were due to the detection of concentration pulses of insulin secreted by exocytosis.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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