The role of the cytoskeleton in pancreatic B-cell function.

The ultrastructural organization of B-cell microtubular-microfilamentous system, its alteration by several pharmacological agents and the concomitant changes in the dynamics of insulin release, the biochemical characterization of islet tubulin and actin, the involvement of microtubules in the process of proinsulin biosynthesis and conversion, the analysis of motile events in endocrine pancreatic cells, the possible participation of microtubular-microfilamentous structures in cell surface organization of the B-cell, and the anomaly of the microtubular apparatus in certain pathological conditions are reviewed. The experimental data support the view that microtubules and microfilaments play an essential role in the process of insulin synthesis and release, as well as in the mechanism of glucagon secretion.