Structural and functional polarisation of human pancreatic beta cells in islets from organ donors with and without type 2 diabetes

Isolated human pancreatic beta cells were cultured on Biolaminin 511 -coated glass coverslips to study beta cells’ structural and functional polarization. The study shows that human beta cells have a consistent orientation with respect to islet capillaries, surrounded by an extracellular matrix including laminin proteins. Live-cell imaging showed the distribution of insulin granule fusion around the cells. The study recognized beta cell polarity in the native human islet environment which plays a role in insulin secretion.