95% of researchers rate our articles as excellent or good
Learn more about the work of our research integrity team to safeguard the quality of each article we publish.
Find out more
PERSPECTIVE article
Front. Cell Dev. Biol.
Sec. Embryonic Development
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fcell.2025.1587893
Hormone-switching islet cells: parallels to transmi4er-switching neurons
Provisionally accepted- 1 Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
- 2 University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, United States
Although originaAng from different germ layers, pancreaAc islet cells and neurons share extensive similariAes, both physiological (e.g. voltage-dependent release of a bioacAve molecule) and molecular (e.g. highly similar composiAon of transcripAon factors and structural genes). Here we propose that two seemingly unrelated phenomena recognized in these cell types -neurotransmiXer switching in neurons and expression of two or more hormones in individual islet cells -share a deep resemblance, potenAally reflecAng an ancient molecular circuit of cell plasAcity. Comparing and contrasAng dynamic hormone expression in islet cells and transmiXer switching in neurons may provide insights into the funcAon and underlying mechanisms of these phenomena.
Keywords: Neurotransmitter switching, islets, double hormone positive cells, Pancreas, plasticity
Received: 05 Mar 2025; Accepted: 02 Apr 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Dor and Spitzer. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Yuval Dor, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
Nicholas C Spitzer, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, 92093, California, United States
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.