Pancreatic B-cell biophysics has undergone a veritable information explosion in the past two years. Single channel and macroscopic currents have become easily accessible following the introduction of the patch clamp technique. In addition to this new approach, further development of techniques for optical measurements, ion-sensitive microlectrodes, permeabilized cells and mathemathical modelling have recently added to the now classical techniques of membrane potential recording and tracer flux measurement. The International Workshop in Biophysics of the Pancreatic B-Cell held in Alicante (Spain) on September 30 - October 1, 198, has now given us the opportunity to share experiences with these new techniques applied to the B-cell. Further-more this was the first occasion of most of the groups doing path-clamp studies of the B-cell to decide on appropriate nomenclature and to debate the different characteristics of teh B-cell ionic channels.

To make this information available to the larger scientific community a record of the meeting has been assembled in this book. It is a collection of research papers by leading scientists at the meeting working on biophysical, biochemical and physiological aspects of secretion. We grouped their contributions in seven sections, including new experimental approaches, K-channels, Ca-channels, role of ionic channels, intracellular ionized calcium, neural regulation and mechanisms of insulin release. Each section gives an account of the state of the problem at the time of the meeting, and the subjects are analyzed from the different perspectives of the various contributors. For example, the general problem of modulation of membrane ionic channels by glucose metabolism is approached by using not only the patch clamp technique, but also by radioactive tracer methods, intracellular recordings using microelectrode techniques and cation-sensitive electrode methods.

For the sake of generality various sources of pancreatic B-cells were considered, ranging, ranging from small rodents, to fish as well as insulin secreting cell lines. Finally, information from other cell types have relevance to the problem of B-cell function were considered. These system included mast cells (intra-cellular dialysis using patch pipettes), adrenocortical and parathyroid cells (patch clamp electrophysiology with innovative experimental design) and chromaffin cells from the adrenal medulla (on-line measurement of hormone release with a time resolution in the millisecond range). This book therefore provides an overview of the present status of the research on the mechanisms underlying the glucose recognition by the B-cell and presents the latest results on B-cell membrane channels, their regulation and the specific role they might play in stimulus-secretion coupling.

The control mechanisms of exocytosis are explored by experts in various fields, including molecular biochemistry and protein chemistry.