Localized modulated wave solutions in diffusive glucose-insulin systems

TL;DR

This paper models insulin dynamics in pancreatic beta-cells as localized modulated waves governed by the complex Ginzburg-Landau equation, revealing how insulin propagates through spatial and temporal dimensions.

Contribution

It introduces a novel semi-discrete model linking intercellular insulin dynamics to the complex Ginzburg-Landau equation, highlighting localized wave solutions.

Findings

Insulin propagates as localized modulated waves in beta-cells.

The complex Ginzburg-Landau equation describes insulin dynamics.

Localized solutions suggest spatial-temporal propagation of insulin.

Abstract

We investigate intercellular insulin dynamics in an array of diffusively coupled pancreatic islet \b{eta}-cells. The cells are connected via gap junction coupling, where nearest neighbor interactions are included. Through the multiple scale expansion in the semi-discrete approximation, we show that the insulin dynamics can be governed by the complex Ginzburg-Landau equation. The localized solutions of this equation are reported. The results suggest from the biophysical point of view that the insulin propagates in pancreatic islet \b{eta}-cells using both temporal and spatial dimensions in the form of localized modulated waves.