Endocrine Abstracts

Pancreatic islet beta cells contain a substantial amount of chelatable zinc (Zn2+), where it acts as a structural component of insulin packaging and is also co-secreted with insulin. Zinc at concentrations found in the pancreas is potentially harmful, and like in the brain, its permeation into endocrine cells may trigger the destruction of the islet leading to the onset of diabetes. Despite the potential importance little is known about the permeation pathways of zi...