In vivo monitoring of intracellular Ca dynamics in the pancreatic β-cells of zebrafish embryos.

Assessing the response of pancreatic islet cells to glucose stimulation is important for understanding β-cell function. Zebrafish are a promising model for studies of metabolism in general, including stimulus-secretion coupling in the pancreas. We used transgenic zebrafish embryos expressing a genetically-encoded Ca sensor in pancreatic β-cells to monitor a key step in glucose induced insulin secretion; the elevations of intracellular [Ca].