A high-throughput assay for the measurement of Ca(2+) oscillations and insulin release from uniformly sized mouse β-cell (MIN6) spheroids.

A scalable 3D β-cell spheroid platform enables real-time measurement of Ca(2+) oscillations and insulin release in response to glucose and modulators.

• Why it matters: Current 2D cultures lack the 3D organization of pancreatic islets, limiting the relevance of screening results for diabetes therapies, while existing 3D models are costly and complex.
• What they did: The authors developed a high-throughput method using micropatterned PEG hydrogels to generate 19 uniform MIN6 spheroids per well in a 96-well plate, allowing imaging of up to 1824 spheroids simultaneously.
• The result: Glucose induces concentration-dependent Ca(2+) oscillations that correlate with insulin secretion, and compounds like pregnenolone sulfate modulate these oscillations, supporting drug screening and personalized medicine applications.