High-throughput quantitative screening of glucose-stimulated insulin secretion and insulin content using automated MAL-DI-TOF mass spectrometry

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is a metabolic disorder characterized by loss of pancreatic β-cell function, decreased insulin secretion and increased insulin resistance, that affects more than 400 million people worldwide. Although several treatments are proposed to patients suffering from T2D, long-term control of glycemia remains a challenge. Therefore, identifying new potential drugs and targets that positively affect β-cell function and insulin secretion remains crucial. Here, we developed an automated approach to allow the identification of new compounds or genes poten-tially involved in β-cell function in a 384-well plate format, using the murine β-cell model Min6. Using MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry, we have implemented a high-throughput screening (HTS) strategy based on the automation of a cellular assay allowing to detect insulin secretion in re-sponse to glucose, quantitative detection of insulin, in a miniaturized system. As a proof of con-cept, we screened siRNA targeting well-know β-cell genes and 1600 chemical compounds and identified several molecules as potential regulators of insulin secretion and/or synthesis, demon-strating that our approach allows HTS of insulin secretion in vitro. ### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest.