Integrating insulin secretion and ER stress in pancreatic β-cells.

After food consumption, insulin-secreting pancreatic β-cells detect increased glucose and incretin hormones, and respond by releasing insulin. Wolfram syndrome 1, a protein that mitigates endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, is now shown to regulate insulin synthesis and release--revealing a molecular point of convergence between the ER stress and insulin release pathways.