Kinetics of insulin secretion to acute, repetitive stimulation of islets in vivo in Sprague Dawley rats.

The exhaustibility of in vivo insulin secretion under repeated stimulations was investigated in male Sprague Dawley rats. Eight pulses of either 300 mg/kg glucose (G), or 300 mg/kg glucose plus 0.25 mg/kg forskolin (G+F) were administered for each rat at every 30 min for 4 hours through the jugular vein.

The hyperbolic effect of density and strength of inter beta-cell coupling on islet bursting: a theoretical investigation.

Background: Insulin, the principal regulating hormone of blood glucose, is released through the bursting of the pancreatic islets. Increasing evidence indicates the importance of islet morphostructure in its function, and the need of a quantitative investigation. Recently we have studied this problem from the perspective of islet bursting of insulin, utilizing a new 3D hexagonal closest packing (HCP) model of islet structure that we have developed.

Investigating the role of islet cytoarchitecture in its oscillation using a new beta-cell cluster model.

The oscillatory insulin release is fundamental to normal glycemic control. The basis of the oscillation is the intercellular coupling and bursting synchronization of beta cells in each islet. The functional role of islet beta cell mass organization with respect to its oscillatory bursting is not well understood.

Dimensional analysis of MINMOD leads to definition of the disposition index of glucose regulation and improved simulation algorithm.

Background: Frequently Sampled Intravenous Glucose Tolerance Test (FSIVGTT) together with its mathematical model, the minimal model (MINMOD), have become important clinical tools to evaluate the metabolic control of glucose in humans. Dimensional analysis of the model is up to now not available.

Methods: A formal dimensional analysis of MINMOD was carried out and the degree of freedom of MINMOD was examined.