Contents. List of Contributors. Preface (S.L. Howell). Section1 &Bgr;-CellCell Development, Replication, and Death. Developmental Biology of the &Bgr;-CellCell (J.M.W. Slack). Pancreatic &Bgr;-Cell Lines: Their Roles in &Bgr;-Cell Research and Diabetes Therapy (S.J. Persaud). &Bgr;-Cell Dysfunction and Death (D.L. Eizirik and A. Hoorens). Islet Proteins Implicated in Pathogenesis of Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus (M.R. Christie). Section II Cellular Mechanisms of Insulin Synthesis and Secretion. Insulin Gene Expression (K. Docherty). Proinsulin Processing and Insulin Storage (C. Wasmeier, J.W.M. Creemers, R.S. Jackson, and J.C. Hutton). Mechanism of Insulin Exocytosis (R. Regazzi). Section III Regulation of Insulin Secretion. Potentiators and Inhibitors of Insulin Secretion (B. Ahren). Signal Recognition: Glucose and Primary Stimuli (E. Van Schaftingen and F. Schuit). Ion Channel Signal Transduction in Pancreatic &Bgr;-Cells (A.S. Rajan and L. Aguilar-Bryan). Signal Transduction: Regulation of Insulin Secretion by Changes in Ca2+ Concentration and Action in Pancreatic &Bgr;-Cells (J. Henquin, J. Jonas, Y. Sato, P. Detimary, and P. Gilon). Roles of Phospholipids and Phospholipase Activiation in &Bgr;-Cell Function (S.A. Metz). Signal Transduction: Protein Phosphorylation and the Regulation of Insulin Secretion (P.M. Jones, S.J. Persaud, and T.E. Harris). Section IV Conclusion. Future Challenges in &Bgr;-Cell Research (S.L. Howell). Index.