MafB is required for islet beta cell maturation.

ABSTRACT: Pancreatic endocrine cell differentiation depends on transcription factors that also contribute in adult insulin and glucagon gene expression. Islet cell development was examined in mice lacking MafB, a transcription factor expressed in immature alpha (glucagon(+)) and beta (insulin(+)) cells and capable of activating insulin and glucagon expression in vitro. We observed that MafB(-/-) embryos had reduced numbers of insulin(+) and glucagon(+) cells throughout development, whereas the total number of endocrine cells was unchanged. Moreover, production of insulin(+) cells was delayed until embryonic day (E) 13.5 in mutant mice and coincided with the onset of MafA expression, a MafB-related activator of insulin transcription. MafA expression was only detected in the insulin(+) cell population

SUBMITTER: Artner I 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1803762 | biostudies-literature | 2007 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature