scholarly journals Role of MicroRNAs in Islet Beta-Cell Compensation and Failure during Diabetes

2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valérie Plaisance ◽  
Gérard Waeber ◽  
Romano Regazzi ◽  
Amar Abderrahmani

Pancreatic beta-cell function and mass are markedly adaptive to compensate for the changes in insulin requirement observed during several situations such as pregnancy, obesity, glucocorticoids excess, or administration. This requires a beta-cell compensation which is achieved through a gain of beta-cell mass and function. Elucidating the physiological mechanisms that promote functional beta-cell mass expansion and that protect cells against death, is a key therapeutic target for diabetes. In this respect, several recent studies have emphasized the instrumental role of microRNAs in the control of beta-cell function. MicroRNAs are negative regulators of gene expression, and are pivotal for the control of beta-cell proliferation, function, and survival. On the one hand, changes in specific microRNA levels have been associated with beta-cell compensation and are triggered by hormones or bioactive peptides that promote beta-cell survival and function. Conversely, modifications in the expression of other specific microRNAs contribute to beta-cell dysfunction and death elicited by diabetogenic factors including, cytokines, chronic hyperlipidemia, hyperglycemia, and oxidized LDL. This review underlines the importance of targeting the microRNA network for future innovative therapies aiming at preventing the beta-cell decline in diabetes.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maryam Saadati ◽  
Yousef Jamali

Abstract Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is a challenging metabolic disorder characterized by a substantial loss of beta-cell mass via progressive programmed cell death and alteration of beta-cell function in the islets of Langerhans, disrupting insulin secretion and glucose homeostasis. The mechanisms for deficiency in beta-cell mass and function during the hyperglycemia development and T2D pathogenesis are complex. To study the relative contribution of beta-cell mass to beta-cell function in T2D, we make use of a comprehensive electrophysiological model from human beta-cell clusters. We find that defect in beta-cell mass causes a functional decline in single beta-cell, impairment in intra-islet synchrony, and changes in the form of oscillatory patterns of membrane potential and intracellular Ca2+ concentration, which can lead to changes in insulin secretion dynamics and insulin levels. The model demonstrates good correspondence between suppression of synchronizing electrical activity and pulsatile insulin release, and published experimental measurements. We then compare the role of gap junction-mediated electrical coupling with both beta-cell synchronization and metabolic coupling in the behavior of Ca2+ concentration dynamics within human islets. Our results indicate that inter-beta-cellular electrical coupling depicts a more important factor in shaping the physiological regulation of islet function and in human T2D. We further predict that varying the conductance gating of delayed rectifier K+ channels modifies oscillatory activity patterns of the beta-cell population lacking intercellular coupling, which significantly affects Ca2+ concentration and insulin secretion.


2011 ◽  
Vol 2011 ◽  
pp. 1-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bernard Portha ◽  
Cécile Tourrel-Cuzin ◽  
Jamileh Movassat

Recent preclinical studies in rodent models of diabetes suggest that exogenous GLP-1R agonists and DPP-4 inhibitors have the ability to increase islet mass and preserve beta-cell function, by immediate reactivation of beta-cell glucose competence, as well as enhanced beta-cell proliferation and neogenesis and promotion of beta-cell survival. These effects have tremendous implication in the treatment of T2D because they directly address one of the basic defects in T2D, that is, beta-cell failure. In human diabetes, however, evidence that the GLP-1-based drugs alter the course of beta-cell function remains to be found. Several questions surrounding the risks and benefits of GLP-1-based therapy for the diabetic beta-cell mass are discussed in this review and require further investigation.


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emma E. Hamilton-Williams ◽  
Graciela L. Lorca ◽  
Jill M. Norris ◽  
Jessica L. Dunne

In recent years the role of the intestinal microbiota in health and disease has come to the forefront of medical research. Alterations in the intestinal microbiota and several of its features have been linked to numerous diseases, including type 1 diabetes (T1D). To date, studies in animal models of T1D, as well as studies in human subjects, have linked several intestinal microbiota alterations with T1D pathogenesis. Features that are most often linked with T1D pathogenesis include decreased microbial diversity, the relative abundance of specific strains of individual microbes, and altered metabolite production. Alterations in these features as well as others have provided insight into T1D pathogenesis and shed light on the potential mechanism by which the microbiota plays a role in T1D pathogenesis, yet the underlying factors leading to these alterations remains unknown. One potential mechanism for alteration of the microbiota is through diet and nutrition. Previous studies have shown associations of diet with islet autoimmunity, but a direct contributing factor has yet to be identified. Diet, through introduction of antigens and alteration of the composition and function of the microbiota, may elicit the immune system to produce autoreactive responses that result in the destruction of the beta cells. Here, we review the evidence associating diet induced changes in the intestinal microbiota and their contribution to T1D pathogenesis. We further provide a roadmap for determining the effect of diet and other modifiable factors on the entire microbiota ecosystem, including its impact on both immune and beta cell function, as it relates to T1D. A greater understanding of the complex interactions between the intestinal microbiota and several interacting systems in the body (immune, intestinal integrity and function, metabolism, beta cell function, etc.) may provide scientifically rational approaches to prevent development of T1D and other childhood immune and allergic diseases and biomarkers to evaluate the efficacy of interventions.


Biomolecules ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 104
Author(s):  
Elisa Fernández-Millán ◽  
Carlos Guillén

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) results from impaired beta-cell function and insufficient beta-cell mass compensation in the setting of insulin resistance. Current therapeutic strategies focus their efforts on promoting the maintenance of functional beta-cell mass to ensure appropriate glycemic control. Thus, understanding how beta-cells communicate with metabolic and non-metabolic tissues provides a novel area for investigation and implicates the importance of inter-organ communication in the pathology of metabolic diseases such as T2D. In this review, we provide an overview of secreted factors from diverse organs and tissues that have been shown to impact beta-cell biology. Specifically, we discuss experimental and clinical evidence in support for a role of gut to beta-cell crosstalk, paying particular attention to bacteria-derived factors including short-chain fatty acids, lipopolysaccharide, and factors contained within extracellular vesicles that influence the function and/or the survival of beta cells under normal or diabetogenic conditions.


Diabetologia ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 53 (11) ◽  
pp. 2369-2379 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Fontés ◽  
B. Zarrouki ◽  
D. K. Hagman ◽  
M. G. Latour ◽  
M. Semache ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kazuno Omori ◽  
Akinobu Nakamura ◽  
Hideaki Miyoshi ◽  
Yuki Yamauchi ◽  
Shinichiro Kawata ◽  
...  

Efficacy of glucokinase activation on glycemic control is limited to a short-term period. One reason might be related with the excess glucose signalling by glucokinase activation towards beta-cells. In this study, we investigated the effect of glucokinase haploinsufficiency on glucose tolerance as well as beta-cell function and mass using a mouse model of type 2 diabetes. Our results showed that <i>db/db</i> mice with glucokinase haploinsufficiency presented amelioration of glucose tolerance by augmented insulin secretion associated with the increase in beta-cell mass when compared with <i>db/db</i> mice. Gene expression profiling, and immunohistochemical and metabolomic analyses revealed that glucokinase haploinsufficiency in the islets of <i>db/db</i> mice was associated with lower expression of stress-related genes, higher expression of transcription factors involved in the maintenance and maturation of beta-cell function, less mitochondrial damage, and a superior metabolic pattern. These effects of glucokinase haploinsufficiency could preserve beta-cell mass under diabetic conditions. These findings verified our hypothesis that optimizing excess glucose signalling in beta-cells by inhibiting glucokinase could prevent beta-cell insufficiency, leading to improving glucose tolerance in diabetes status by preserving beta-cell mass. Therefore, glucokinase inactivation in beta-cells could, paradoxically, be a potential strategy for the treatment of type 2 diabetes.


Biomedicines ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (12) ◽  
pp. 1824
Author(s):  
Pierre Cheung ◽  
Olof Eriksson

Diabetes is a chronic metabolic disease affecting over 400 million people worldwide and one of the leading causes of death, especially in developing nations. The disease is characterized by chronic hyperglycemia, caused by defects in the insulin secretion or action pathway. Current diagnostic methods measure metabolic byproducts of the disease such as glucose level, glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), insulin or C-peptide levels, which are indicators of the beta-cell function. However, they inaccurately reflect the disease progression and provide poor longitudinal information. Beta-cell mass has been suggested as an alternative approach to study disease progression in correlation to beta-cell function, as it behaves differently in the diabetes physiopathology. Study of the beta-cell mass, however, requires highly invasive and potentially harmful procedures such as pancreatic biopsies, making diagnosis and monitoring of the disease tedious. Nuclear medical imaging techniques using radiation emitting tracers have been suggested as strong non-invasive tools for beta-cell mass. A highly sensitive and high-resolution technique, such as positron emission tomography, provides an ideal solution for the visualization of beta-cell mass, which is particularly essential for better characterization of a disease such as diabetes, and for estimating treatment effects towards regeneration of the beta-cell mass. Development of novel, validated biomarkers that are aimed at beta-cell mass imaging are thus highly necessary and would contribute to invaluable breakthroughs in the field of diabetes research and therapies. This review aims to describe the various biomarkers and radioactive probes currently available for positron emission tomography imaging of beta-cell mass, as well as highlight the need for precise quantification and visualization of the beta-cell mass for designing new therapy strategies and monitoring changes in the beta-cell mass during the progression of diabetes.


F1000Research ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. 1851 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmed Abbas ◽  
Christine Beamish ◽  
Rebecca McGirr ◽  
John Demarco ◽  
Neil Cockburn ◽  
...  

Purpose: In diabetes, pancreatic beta cell mass declines significantly prior to onset of fasting hyperglycemia. This decline may be due to endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, and the system L amino acid transporter LAT1 may be a biomarker of this process. In this study, we used 5-(2-18F-fluoroethoxy)-L-tryptophan (18F-L-FEHTP) to target LAT1 as a potential biomarker of beta cell function in diabetes. Procedures: Uptake of 18F-L-FEHTP was determined in wild-type C57BL/6 mice by ex vivo biodistribution. Both dynamic and static positron emission tomography (PET) images were acquired in wild-type and Akita mice, a model of ER stress-induced diabetes, as well as in mice treated with streptozotocin (STZ). LAT1 expression in both groups of mice was evaluated by immunofluorescence microscopy. Results: Uptake of 18F-L-FEHTP was highest in the pancreas, and static PET images showed highly specific pancreatic signal. Time-activity curves showed significantly reduced 18F-L-FEHTP uptake in Akita mice, and LAT1 expression was also reduced. However, mice treated with STZ, in which beta cell mass was reduced by 62%, showed no differences in 18F-L-FEHTP uptake in the pancreas, and there was no significant correlation of 18F-L-FEHTP uptake with beta cell mass. Conclusions: 18F-L-FEHTP is highly specific for the pancreas with little background uptake in kidney or liver. We were able to detect changes in LAT1 in a mouse model of diabetes, but these changes did not correlate with beta cell function or mass. Therefore, 18F-L-FEHTP PET is not a suitable method for the noninvasive imaging of changes in beta cell function during the progression of diabetes.


2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elisabet Salas ◽  
Nabil Rabhi ◽  
Philippe Froguel ◽  
Jean-Sébastien Annicotte

The ARF/INK4A (Cdkn2a) locus includes the linked tumour suppressor genes p16INK4a and p14ARF (p19ARF in mice) that trigger the antiproliferative activities of both RB and p53. With beta cell self-replication being the primary source for new beta cell generation in adult animals, the network by which beta cell replication could be increased to enhance beta cell mass and function is one of the approaches in diabetes research. In this review, we show a general view of the regulation points at transcriptional and posttranslational levels of Cdkn2a locus. We describe the molecular pathways and functions of Cdkn2a in beta cell cycle regulation. Given that aging reveals increased p16Ink4a levels in the pancreas that inhibit the proliferation of beta cells and decrease their ability to respond to injury, we show the state of the art about the role of this locus in beta cell senescence and diabetes development. Additionally, we focus on two approaches in beta cell regeneration strategies that rely on Cdkn2a locus negative regulation: long noncoding RNAs and betatrophin.


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