In situ structure of actin remodeling during glucose-stimulated insulin secretion using cryo-electron tomography

• Published in: Nature communications Vol. 15; no. 1; p. 1311
• Main Authors: Li, Weimin, Li, Angdi, Yu, Bing, Zhang, Xiaoxiao, Liu, Xiaoyan, White, Kate L., Stevens, Raymond C., Baumeister, Wolfgang, Sali, Andrej, Jasnin, Marion, Sun, Liping
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 12.02.2024; Nature Publishing Group; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: 13/109; 14/1; 14/28; 14/35; 14/63; 631/535/1258/1260; 631/80/128/1276; 631/80/313/2376; Actin; Actin Cytoskeleton - metabolism; Actins - metabolism; Beta cells; Depolymerization; Electron Microscope Tomography; Filaments; Glucose; Glucose - metabolism; Granular materials; Humanities and Social Sciences; Insulin; Insulin - metabolism; Insulin Secretion; Insulin-Secreting Cells - metabolism; Membranes; Microtubules; multidisciplinary; Pancreas; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Secretion; Secretory vesicles
• ISSN: 2041-1723; 2041-1723
• DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-45648-7

Actin mediates insulin secretion in pancreatic β-cells through remodeling. Hampered by limited resolution, previous studies have offered an ambiguous depiction as depolymerization and repolymerization. We report the in situ structure of actin remodeling in INS-1E β-cells during glucose-stimulated insulin secretion at nanoscale resolution. After remodeling, the actin filament network at the cell periphery exhibits three marked differences: 12% of actin filaments reorient quasi-orthogonally to the ventral membrane; the filament network mainly remains as cell-stabilizing bundles but partially reconfigures into a less compact arrangement; actin filaments anchored to the ventral membrane reorganize from a “netlike” to a “blooming” architecture. Furthermore, the density of actin filaments and microtubules around insulin secretory granules decreases, while actin filaments and microtubules become more densely packed. The actin filament network after remodeling potentially precedes the transport and release of insulin secretory granules. These findings advance our understanding of actin remodeling and its role in glucose-stimulated insulin secretion. Actin mediates insulin secretion in pancreatic β-cells through remodeling. Here, authors report the in situ structure of actin remodeling and quantify changes in architecture, alignment, and interactions during glucose-stimulated insulin secretion.