Cells don't live in isolation. Communication among multiple cells types within the same tissue and between cells located in different organs regulates important aspects of cell biology including function, differentiation, proliferation and survival.

Pancreatic beta cells normally communicate with multiple cell types located within the islets of Langerhans as well as with cells outside the islets including cells of the exocrine pancreas, liver, adipose tissue, brain or gut. These connections involve a variety of chemical and mechanical signals, are highly dynamic and can tailor the behavior of beta cells in the short and long-term ultimately contributing to the control of glucose homeostasis. Importantly, the types of communication and messages that they convey can change throughout the life of the organism. Thus, certain cell dialogues only take place during specific windows of time, i.e. embryogenesis or pregnancy, and mediate beta cell development and expansion under these physiological situations. On the other hand, some cell dialogues are forced upon pathological situations, such in the case of type 1 diabetes via the arrival of unexpected new neighbors of the immune system, or in the case of obesity via the reception of an unprecedented volume of signals from enlarged fat tissue. These latter dialogues often end in a difficult to resolve conflict that leads to beta cell dysfunction and/or loss and the onset of diabetes.

This Research Topic of Frontiers in Endocrinology wishes to accept articles in the forms of Review and Mini Review focused on the understanding of how beta cells communicate with other cell types under physiological and pathological contexts.

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