Analysis of the effect of calcium stores on the bursting of a pancreatic β-cells cluster

In response to glucose, pancreatic β-cells in the islets of Langerhans secrete insulin. This insulin facilitates the use and uptake of glucose in target tissues. In this way, insulin plays a great role in the adjustment of the blood sugar level. On the other hand, the membrane potential of β-cell shows characteristic wave known as bursting. It is considered that insulin secretion is greatly related to the bursting of pancreatic β-cell. By using two kinds of Hodgkin-Huxley-type pancreatic β-cell models with or without a calcium store and by studying the change of bursting period and plateau fraction, it is shown that the model which considers a calcium store can reproduce the physiological experimental result that the blockage of gap junction reduces the insulin secretion.