BetaSys

Preface.- Systems biology of beta-cells - revisited.- Established facts and open questions of the focused systems analysis of regulated exocytosis in beta-cells - a background for a focused systems analysis approach.- Mitochondria and metabolic signals in beta-cells.- beta-cell ontogenesis and the insulin production apparatus.- The role of the cytoskeleton in transport and release of the insulin-containing granules by pancreatic beta-cells.- The mathematical microscope making the inaccessible accessible.- Magnetic resonance imaging of pancreatic beta-cells.- Mapping the beta-cell in 3D at the nanoscale using novel cellular electron tomography and computational approaches.- In vivo applications of inorganic nanoparticles.- Cell cultivation and sensor-based assays for dynamic measurements of cell vitality: basic concepts.- Bioimpedance spectroscopy.- DNA variations, impaired insulin secretion and type-2 diabetes.- Genetically programmed defects in beta-cell function.- Proteomic analysis of the pancreatic islet beta-cell secretory granule: current understanding and future opportunities.- Physiological and pathophysiological role of islet amyloid polypeptide (IAPP, amylin) - a role in the pathogenesis of type-2 diabetes.- Present state of islet transplantation for type-1 diabetes patients.- Predictive protein networks and identification of drugable targets in the beta-cell.- Nanotoxicity.- From silicon cell to silicon human.- Probing cellular dynamics with mesoscopic simulations.- What drives calcium oscillations in beta-cells? new tasks for cyclic analysis.- Whole-body and cellular models of glucose-stimulated insulin secretion.- Geometric and electromagnetic aspects of fusion pore making.- Index.

From the reviews:"This second volume is Springer's Systems Biology series focuses on the organisation of pancreatic insulin-producing beta cells, with a particular focus on the technological approaches deemed necessary to further our understanding of beta cell physiology and the pathogenesis of diabetes. ... I warmly recommend should be on the shelves of all research laboratories involved in modern beta cell research." (P. Meda, Diabetologia, Vol. 54, 2011)