A novel tool for optogenetic control of Islets of Langerhans: The Optopus Box

The pancreatic islet hormones insulin, glucagon and somatostatin play a crucial role in maintaining normoglycaemia. Effective communication between beta, alpha, and delta cells is essential for glucose homeostasis and disruption of this intra-islet crosstalk is observed diabetes. Optogenetics is a great way to study pancreatic islets as it eliminates the need for drugs that might have off-target effects, while preserving islet architecture. We generated mouse models of optogenetics to interrogate the physiological and humoral response to electrical and paracrine stimulus in pancreatic islets. To better employ optogenetics on islets, we designed a box to illuminate the islets in batch incubations. Our innovative box is a useful tool for studying islets cell crosstalk in a drug-free, controlled environment and provides a new standard for investigating the dynamic interactions within islets.