Probing β-Cell Biology in Space and Time

beta -Cells in the islet of Langerhans have a central role in maintaining energy homeostasis. Understanding the physiology of beta -cells and other islet cells requires a deep understanding of their structural and functional organization, their interaction with vessels and nerves, the layout of paracrine interactions, and the relationship between subcellular compartments and protein complexes inside each cell. These elements are not static; they are dynamic and exert their biological actions at different scales of time. Therefore, scientists must be able to investigate (and visualize) short- and long-lived events within the pancreas and beta -cells. Current technological advances in microscopy are able to bridge multiple spatiotemporal scales in biology to reveal the complexity and heterogeneity of beta -cell biology. Here, I briefly discuss the historical discoveries that leveraged microscopes to establish the basis of beta -cell anatomy and structure, the current imaging platforms that allow the study of islet and beta -cell biology at multiple scales of resolution, and their challenges and implications. Lastly, I outline how the remarkable longevity of structural elements at different scales in biology, from molecules to cells to multicellular structures, could represent a previously unrecognized organizational pattern in developing and adult beta -cells and pancreas biology.