Erli Jin, an IPiB graduate student, will be defending his Ph.D. research on May 19, 2025. His research in the Merrins Lab focused on how calcium activity is regulated in pancreatic islet cells.
Pancreatic islets are clusters of cells within the pancreas that are crucial for regulating blood sugar levels. Islets are composed of several cell types, including ⍺-cells that produce the hormone glucagon and β-cells that produce the hormone insulin. Insulin and glucagon work together to regulate blood sugar.
Jin developed a new technique for imaging single β-cell calcium activity in intact islets — which plays a key role in the secretion of insulin — to better understand how they coordinate to ensure that the right amount of insulin is released. In previous studies, scientists took images of single islets in planes due to the limit of imaging depth. Using a high-speed light sheet microscope, Jin took images of entire islets, which provided new insights into how the cell clusters work together. He also explored how amino acids can help fuel ⍺-cells to release glucagon and regulate calcium activity, and how glycolytic enzymes are responsible for regulating calcium activity in ⍺-cells.
“We often think of glucose as stimulating the functions in our cells that control blood sugar. But when you eat a meal, you’re not just eating carbohydrates. You’re also eating things like fatty acids and proteins made up of amino acids,” says Jin. “β-cells are a good carbohydrate sensor. My work looked at how ⍺-cells are a major sensor of amino acids, so glucagon release and calcium regulation can be stimulated by the presence of certain amino acids.”
When Jin first started graduate school, he did not have his eyes set on studying metabolic cells, compounds and pathways. “I found my interest in doing microscope imaging during my masters program at Johns Hopkins University,” says Jin. “These projects were fantastic for me because I was able to work with an under-studied cell type to develop new technology and learn new techniques for imaging and analysis.”
Jin’s research has been published in the journals Nature Communications, eLife, and Diabetes. After graduating, he plans to continue on to a position as a post-doctoral researcher and pursue a career in academia.
To learn more about Jin’s research, attend his Ph.D. defense, “Role of glycolytic enzymes on pancreatic alpha- and beta-cell calcium activity” on Monday, May 19 at 9:00 a.m. CT in Room 1211 of Hector F. DeLuca Biochemical Sciences Building.
Written by Renata Solan.