Tracking the Evolution of Functional Connectivity Patterns Between Pancreatic Beta Cells with Multilayer Network Formalism

摘要

Network science has provided new promising tools for studying the structure and function of various complex systems. In the present contribution we demonstrate how network concepts can be used to describe the collective activity of pancreatic β cell populations in islets of Langerhans. In this microorgan, electrically coupled (3 cells produce and secrete insulin that plays a pivotal role in normal and pathological whole-body nutrient homeostasis. We construct functional networks from correlations between calcium dynamics of individual cells, which is recorded by means of confocal laser-scanning calcium imaging. The extracted connectivity patterns share many similarities with other real-life networks, such as small-worldness, heterogeneity, and modularity. Moreover, by applying the multilayer network formalism, we give particular emphasis to the dynamical evolution of the (3 cell network after stimulation. By this means, an even deeper insight into the intercellular communication mechanisms in islets is attained.