Specialized Hub Beta Cells Trade Maximal Insulin Production for Perfect Timing.

The pulsatility of insulin release is disturbed early in type 2 diabetes, but it is not clear whether specialized pacemaker cells drive islet oscillations. In this issue of Cell Metabolism, Johnston et al. (2016) show that specialized hubs, identified as 1%-10% of beta cells with more active mitochondria and less insulin, synchronize beta cell oscillations.