Determination of beta-cell function: insulin secretion of isolated islets.

The kinetics of insulin secretion, not just the total amount, is of decisive relevance for the physiological regulation of glucose homeostasis. Thus to characterize the relevant features of the secretory response to an insulinotropic stimulus a method is needed which is able to resolve the temporal response pattern, in particular to distinguish the first phase from the second phase response. The perifusion of collagenase-isolated islets is a method which permits to register responses of near-physiological complexity with a preparation that can also be used for cell physiological and biochemical investigations on stimulus--secretion oupling.