Capsaicin-sensitive sensory fibers in the islets of Langerhans contribute to defective insulin secretion in Zucker diabetic rat, an animal model for some aspects of human type 2 diabetes
The system that regulates insulin secretion from beta-cells in the islet of Langerhans has a capsaicin-sensitive inhibitory component. As calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP)-expressing primary sensory fibers innervate the islets, and a major proportion of the CGRP-containing primary sensory neurons is sensitive to capsaicin, the islet-innervating sensory fibers may represent the capsaicin-sensi