3D FIB-SEM reconstruction of microtubule-organelle interaction in whole primary mouse β cells

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

  • Andreas Müller - , Molecular Diabetology, German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD), Paul Langerhans Institute Dresden (PLID) of the Helmholtz Center Munich (Author)
  • Deborah Schmidt - , Center for Systems Biology Dresden (CSBD), Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics (Author)
  • C. Shan Xu - , Howard Hughes Medical Institute (Author)
  • Song Pang - , Howard Hughes Medical Institute (Author)
  • Joyson Verner D'Costa - , Medical Faculty Carl Gustav Carus, German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD) (Author)
  • Susanne Kretschmar - , Center for Molecular and Cellular Bioengineering (CMBC) (Author)
  • Carla Münster - , Medical Faculty Carl Gustav Carus, German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD) (Author)
  • Thomas Kurth - , Core Facility Electron Microscopy & Histology (Author)
  • Florian Jug - , Center for Systems Biology Dresden (CSBD), Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Human Technopole (Author)
  • Martin Weigert - , Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL) (Author)
  • Harald F. Hess - , Howard Hughes Medical Institute (Author)
  • Michele Solimena - , Molecular Diabetology, German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD), Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Paul Langerhans Institute Dresden (PLID) of the Helmholtz Center Munich (Author)

Abstract

Microtubules play a major role in intracellular trafficking of vesicles in endocrine cells. Detailed knowledge of microtubule organization and their relation to other cell constituents is crucial for understanding cell function. However, their role in insulin transport and secretion is under debate. Here, we use FIB-SEM to image islet β cells in their entirety with unprecedented resolution. We reconstruct mitochondria, Golgi apparati, centrioles, insulin secretory granules, and microtubules of seven β cells, and generate a comprehensive spatial map of microtubule-organelle interactions. We find that microtubules form nonradial networks that are predominantly not connected to either centrioles or endomembranes. Microtubule number and length, but not microtubule polymer density, vary with glucose stimulation. Furthermore, insulin secretory granules are enriched near the plasma membrane, where they associate with microtubules. In summary, we provide the first 3D reconstructions of complete microtubule networks in primary mammalian cells together with evidence regarding their importance for insulin secretory granule positioning and thus their supportive role in insulin secretion.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Article numbere202010039
JournalJournal of Cell Biology
Volume220
Issue number2
Publication statusPublished - 2021
Peer-reviewedYes

External IDs

PubMed 33326005
ORCID /0000-0001-5624-1717/work/180881032
ORCID /0000-0002-7780-9057/work/181390591

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas