Project description:BackgroundLong-term exposure to elevated levels of free fatty acids (FFAs) is deleterious for beta-cell function and may contribute to development of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Whereas mechanisms of impaired glucose-stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS) in FFA-treated beta-cells have been intensively studied, biological events preceding the secretory failure, when GSIS is accentuated, are poorly investigated. To identify these early events, we performed genome-wide analysis of gene expression in isolated human islets exposed to fatty acid palmitate for different time periods.ResultsPalmitate-treated human islets showed decline in beta-cell function starting from day two. Affymetrix Human Transcriptome Array 2.0 identified 903 differentially expressed genes (DEGs). Mapping of the genes onto pathways using KEGG pathway enrichment analysis predicted four islet biology-related pathways enriched prior but not after the decline of islet function and three pathways enriched both prior and after the decline of islet function. DEGs from these pathways were analyzed at the transcript level. The results propose that in palmitate-treated human islets, at early time points, protective events, including up-regulation of metallothioneins, tRNA synthetases and fatty acid-metabolising proteins, dominate over deleterious events, including inhibition of fatty acid detoxification enzymes, which contributes to the enhanced GSIS. After prolonged exposure of islets to palmitate, the protective events are outweighed by the deleterious events, which leads to impaired GSIS.ConclusionsThe study identifies temporal order between different cellular events, which either promote or protect from beta-cell failure. The sequence of these events should be considered when developing strategies for prevention and treatment of the disease.
Project description:NOD mice deficient in the transcription factor Batf3 never develop diabetes. The goal of this study was to determine if NOD.Batf3-/- mice islets had any inflammatory signature associated with type 1 diabetes. Islets of Langerhans were isolated from NOD, NOD.Batf3-/-, and NOD.Rag1-/- and then compared to determine inflammatory gene profiles. At 6 and 8 weeks of age, NOD.Batf3-/- islets had an absence of inflammatory gene expression and were almost identical to uninflamed NOD.Rag1-/- islets. This work shows that absence of the Batf3 transcription factor is sufficient to prevent all the inflammatory sequelae of autoimmune diabetes. RNA was isolated from the pancreatic islets of Langerhans of 27 experimental mice. Mice were aged either 6 or 8 weeks. Three genotypes were tested: NOD, NOD.Rag1-/-, and NOD.Batf3-/-. There were 3-6 biological replicates per condition. All mice were female. All data was normalized using RMA in Arraystar.
Project description:ContextAberrant biosynthesis and secretion of the insulin precursor proinsulin occurs in both type I and type II diabetes. Inflammatory cytokines are implicated in pancreatic islet stress and dysfunction in both forms of diabetes, but the mechanisms remain unclear.ObjectiveWe sought to determine the effect of the diabetes-associated cytokines on proinsulin folding, trafficking, secretion, and β-cell function.MethodsHuman islets were treated with interleukin-1β and interferon-γ for 48 hours, followed by analysis of interleukin-6, nitrite, proinsulin and insulin release, RNA sequencing, and unbiased profiling of the proinsulin interactome by affinity purification-mass spectrometry.ResultsCytokine treatment induced secretion of interleukin-6, nitrites, and insulin, as well as aberrant release of proinsulin. RNA sequencing showed that cytokines upregulated genes involved in endoplasmic reticulum stress, and, consistent with this, affinity purification-mass spectrometry revealed cytokine induced proinsulin binding to multiple endoplasmic reticulum chaperones and oxidoreductases. Moreover, increased binding to the chaperone immunoglobulin binding protein was required to maintain proper proinsulin folding in the inflammatory environment. Cytokines also regulated novel interactions between proinsulin and type 1 and type 2 diabetes genome-wide association studies candidate proteins not previously known to interact with proinsulin (eg, Ataxin-2). Finally, cytokines induced proinsulin interactions with a cluster of microtubule motor proteins and chemical destabilization of microtubules with Nocodazole exacerbated cytokine induced proinsulin secretion.ConclusionTogether, the data shed new light on mechanisms by which diabetes-associated cytokines dysregulate β-cell function. For the first time, we show that even short-term exposure to an inflammatory environment reshapes proinsulin interactions with critical chaperones and regulators of the secretory pathway.
Project description:Obesity is associated with inflammatory macrophages in insulin responsive tissues and the resulting inflammatory response is a major contributor to insulin resistance. In insulin-producing pancreatic islets, the intra-islet accumulation of macrophages is observed in patients of type 2 diabetes (T2D), but such has not been investigated in obese individuals. Here, we show that pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF), anti-inflammatory cytokines (IL-10 and TGF-β) and macrophage polarization markers (CD11c, CD163, and NOS2) were expressed in isolated human islets from non-diabetic donors. Clodronate-mediated depletion of resident macrophages revealed expression of IL1B and IL10 mostly from macrophages, while IL6, TNF, and TGFB1 came largely from a non-macrophage origin in human islets. NOS2 expression came exclusively from non-macrophage cells in non-obese individuals, while it originated also from macrophages in obese donors. Macrophage marker expression of CD68, CD163, and ITGAX was unchanged in islets of non-obese control and obese cohorts. In contrast, IL1B and NOS2 were significantly increased in islets from obese, compared to non-obese individuals, implying a more inflammatory macrophage phenotype in islets in obesity. Our study shows elevated macrophage-associated inflammation in human islets in obesity, which could be an initiating factor to the pro-inflammatory intra-islet milieu and contribute to the higher susceptibility to T2D in obese individuals.
Project description:Background: Long-term exposure to elevated levels of free fatty acids (FFAs) is deleterious for beta-cell function and may contribute to development of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Whereas mechanisms of impaired glucose-stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS) in FFA-treated beta-cells have been intensively studied, biological events preceding the secretory failure, when GSIS is accentuated, are poorly investigated. To identify these early events, we performed genome-wide analysis of gene expression in isolated human islets exposed to fatty acid palmitate for different time periods. Results: Palmitate-treated human islets showed decline in beta-cell function starting from day two. Affymetrix Human Transcriptome Array 2.0 identified 903 differentially expressed genes (DEGs). Mapping of the genes onto pathways using KEGG pathway enrichment analysis predicted four islet biology-related pathways enriched prior but not after the decline of islet function and three pathways enriched both prior and after the decline of islet function. DEGs from these pathways were analyzed at the transcript level. The results propose that in palmitate-treated human islets, at early time points, protective events, including up-regulation of metallothioneins, tRNA synthetases and fatty acid-metabolising proteins, dominate over deleterious events, including inhibition of fatty acid detoxification enzymes, which contributes to the enhanced GSIS. After prolonged exposure of islets to palmitate, the protective events are outweighed by the deleterious events, which leads to impaired GSIS. Conclusions: The study identifies temporal order between different cellular events, which either promote or protect from beta-cell failure. The sequence of these events should be considered when developing strategies for prevention and treatment of the disease.
Project description:Aims/hypothesisIn this study, we used an immunodeficient mouse model to explore, in vivo, the longitudinal adaptation of human islets to an obesogenic environment.MethodsNon-diabetic Rag2 (-/-) mice (n = 61) were transplanted with human islets (400 islet equivalents [IEQ]) from six pancreases: four non-diabetic and two with overt metabolic dysfunction (older, high HbA(lc) or history of diabetes). Animals were fed for 12 weeks with a control or high-fat diet (HFD), and followed for weight, serum triacylglycerol, fasting blood glucose and human C-peptide. After the mice were killed, human grafts and the endogenous pancreas were analysed for endocrine volume, distribution of beta and alpha cells, and proliferation.ResultsTransplanted mice on an HFD gained significantly more weight (p < 0.001) and had higher fasting glycaemia (2-12 weeks; p = 0.0002) and consistently higher fasting human C-peptide levels (2-12 weeks; p = 0.04) compared with those on the control diet. Histology demonstrated doubling of human islet graft volume at 12 weeks in animals on the HFD and increased beta cell volume (p < 0.001), but no change in alpha cell volume. Human islet function (hyperbolic product HOMA2%BS) at 12 weeks was four times lower in HFD animals (p < 0.001 vs controls) because of insufficient beta cell adaptation to decreased (70%) sensitivity (HOMA%S). Human islets obtained from donors with metabolic dysfunction failed to adapt to the HFD.Conclusions/interpretationThis longitudinal study provides direct evidence that human islets adapt both endocrine and beta cell mass, function and gene expression to obesity in vivo. The present model will facilitate the identification of mechanisms by which human islets adapt to obesity in vivo and the cell type(s) responsible, and factors predisposing human beta cells to decompensation.
Project description:Inhibition of polyamine biosynthesis using α-difluoromethylornithine (DFMO), an inhibitor of ornithine decarboxylase (ODC), reduces β-cell stress and type 1 diabetes (T1D) incidence in preclinical models. However, underlying cellular and molecular mechanisms and the tolerability and effectiveness of polyamine depletion by DFMO in humans with T1D remain unknown. Transcriptomics and proteomics of cytokine-stressed human islets treated with DFMO reveal alterations in mRNA translation, nascent protein transport, and secretion. Collectively, our data suggest that inhibition of polyamine biosynthesis may preserve β-cell function in T1D via islet cell-autonomous responses to stress.
Project description:Pancreatic β-cells are essential for survival, being the only cell type capable of insulin secretion. While they are believed to be vulnerable to damage by inflammatory cytokines such as interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β) and interferon-gamma, we have recently identified physiological roles for cytokine signaling in rodent β-cells that include the stimulation of antiviral and antimicrobial gene expression and the inhibition of viral replication. In this study, we examine cytokine-stimulated changes in gene expression in human islets using single-cell RNA sequencing. Surprisingly, the global responses of human islets to cytokine exposure were remarkably blunted compared to our previous observations in the mouse. The small population of human islet cells that were cytokine responsive exhibited increased expression of IL-1β-stimulated antiviral guanylate-binding proteins, just like in the mouse. Most human islet cells were not responsive to cytokines, and this lack of responsiveness was associated with high expression of genes encoding ribosomal proteins. We further correlated the expression levels of RPL5 with stress response genes, and when expressed at high levels, RPL5 is predictive of failure to respond to cytokines in all endocrine cells. We postulate that donor causes of death and isolation methodologies may contribute to stress of the islet preparation. Our findings indicate that activation of stress responses in human islets limits cytokine-stimulated gene expression, and we urge caution in the evaluation of studies that have examined cytokine-stimulated gene expression in human islets without evaluation of stress-related gene expression.
Project description:Insulin is both a hormone regulating energy metabolism and a growth factor. We and others have shown that physiological doses of insulin initiate complex signals in primary human and mouse beta-cells, but the functional significance of insulin's effects on this cell type remains unclear. In the present study, the role of insulin in beta-cell apoptosis was examined. Exogenous insulin completely prevented apoptosis induced by serum withdrawal when given at picomolar or low nanomolar concentrations but not at higher concentrations, indicating that physiological concentrations of insulin are antiapoptotic and that insulin signaling is self-limiting in islets. Insulin treatment was associated with the nuclear localization of Pdx1 and the prosurvival effects of insulin were largely absent in islets 50% deficient in Pdx1, providing direct evidence that Pdx1 is a signaling target of insulin. Physiological levels of insulin did not increase Akt phosphorylation, and the protective effects of insulin were only partially altered in islets lacking 80% of normal Akt activity, suggesting the presence of additional insulin-regulated antiapoptotic pathways. Proteomic analysis of insulin-treated human islets revealed significant changes in multiple proteins. Bridge-1, a Pdx1-binding partner and regulator of beta-cell survival, was increased significantly at low insulin doses. Together, these data suggest that insulin can act as a master regulator of islet survival by regulating Pdx1.