title: The glucagon-producing alpha cell: an electrophysiologically exceptional cell.
abstract: Activation of potassium channels normally serves to reduce cellular activity but recent data indicate that the glucagon-secreting alpha cells are different in this respect and that inhibition of voltage-gated potassium channels results in a paradoxical inhibition of glucagon secretion. Here we discuss these findings and attempt to provide a model for the regulation of glucagon secretion that incorporates these observations.
authors.affiliation: Oxford Centre for Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism, University of Oxford, Churchill Hospital, Oxford, UK.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Braun
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Rorsman
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004594:Electrophysiology; D005934:Glucagon / Q000378:metabolism; D050416:Glucagon-Secreting Cells / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D007515:Islets of Langerhans / Q000378:metabolism; D008954:Models, Biological; D024642:Potassium Channels, Voltage-Gated / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D024642:Potassium Channels, Voltage-Gated; D005934:Glucagon