Project description:Objective: Histone deacetylases are epigenetic regulators known to control gene transcription in various tissues. A member of this family, histone deacetylase 3 (HDAC3), has been shown to regulate metabolic genes. Cell culture studies with HDAC-specific inhibitors and siRNA suggest that HDAC3 plays a role in pancreatic β-cell function, but a recent genetic study in mice has been contradictory. Here we address the functional role of HDAC3 in β-cells of adult mice. Methods: An HDAC3 β-cell specific knockout was generated in adult MIP-CreERT transgenic mice using the Cre-loxP system. Induction of HDAC3 deletion was initiated at 8 weeks of age with administration of tamoxifen in corn oil (2 mg/day for 5 days). Mice were assayed for glucose tolerance, glucose-stimulated insulin secretion, and islet function 2 weeks after induction of the knockout. Transcriptional functions of HDAC3 were assessed by ChIP-seq as well as RNA-seq comparing control and -cell knockout islets. Results: HDAC3 β-cell specific knockout (HDAC3βKO) did not increase total pancreatic insulin content or β-cell mass. However, HDAC3βKO mice demonstrated markedly improved glucose tolerance. This improved glucose metabolism coincided with increased basal and glucose-stimulated insulin secretion in vivo as well as in isolated islets. Cistromic and transcriptomic analyses of pancreatic islets revealed that HDAC3 regulates multiple genes that contribute to glucose-stimulated insulin secretion. Conclusions: HDAC3 plays an important role in regulating insulin secretion in vivo and therapeutic intervention may improve glucose homeostasis.
Project description:Lifestyle intervention including exercise restores glucose homeostasis and pancreatic β-cell function in type 2 diabetes (T2D). However, exercise compliance is a challenge. Novel alternative or adjuvant approaches are necessary. During exercise, the contracting skeletal muscle acts as endocrine organ via the secretion and endocrine signaling of functional proteins. We postulated that contracting skeletal muscle secretes proteins that target pancreatic β-cells and regulate insulin secretion and glucose metabolism. To test this hypothesis, we used an in vitro cell-based skeletal muscle contraction system to uncover proteins released in the muscle secretome. Using an RNAseq screen, we identified growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF15) as a lead candidate. β-cells, human pancreatic islets, and C57BL/6J mice exposed to acute GDF15 treatment exhibited increased glucose-stimulated insulin secretion, and the mechanism involved activation of the insulin release pathway. Chronic GDF15 treatment in db/db mice reduced insulin resistance and preserved pancreatic PDX-1 expression. Consistently, plasma GDF15 increased concurrently with C-peptide prior to the onset of chronic hyperglycemia in humans with pre-diabetes. In addition, in humans with T2D, exercise-induced GDF15 was associated with enhanced β-cell function. These findings support GDF15 as a potential therapeutic target for type 2 diabetes and associated co-morbidities.
Project description:After the discovery of insulin a century ago, extensive work has been done to unravel the molecular network regulating insulin secretion. Here, we performed a chemical screen and identified AZD7762, a compound that potentiates glucose-stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS) of human β cell line, healthy and type 2 diabetic (T2D) human islets, and primary cynomolgus macaque islets. In vivo studies in diabetic mouse models and cynomolgus macaques demonstrated that AZD7762 enhances GSIS and improves glucose tolerance. Furthermore, genetic manipulation confirmed that ablation of CHEK2 in human β cells results in increased insulin secretion. Consistently, high-fat-diet fed Chk2-/- mice show elevated insulin secretion and improved glucose clearance. Finally, an untargeted metabolic profiling demonstrated the key role of the CHEK2-PP2A-PLK1-G6PD-PPP pathway in insulin secretion. This study successfully identifies a previously unknown insulin secretion regulating pathway that is conserved across rodents, cynomolgus macaques and human β cells in both healthy and T2D conditions.
Project description:DEAD-box helicase 1 (DDX1) is a multifunction protein involved in diverse cellular processes including transcription, viral replication, mRNA/miRNA processing, and tRNA splicing. Here, we report a novel function of DDX1 in mRNA alternative splicing in pancreatic β cells. By performing integrated data analysis of high-throughput RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq), and cross-linking and immunoprecipitation coupled with deep sequencing (CLIP-Seq), we identify hundreds of alternative splicing genes that are targeted by DDX1. These DDX1-targeted alternative splicing genes are mainly associated with calcium ion binding, high voltage-gated calcium channel, and transmembrane transporter. Functionally, silencing DDX1 impairs calcium influx and insulin secretion in the pancreatic β cells. These results reveal an important role for DDX1 in the regulation of gene alternative splicing and insulin secretion in pancreatic β cells.
Project description:Pancreatic beta-cells are specialized for coupling glucose metabolism to insulin peptide production and secretion. Acute glucose exposure robustly and coordinately increases translation of proinsulin and proteins required for secretion of mature insulin peptide. By contrast, chronically elevated glucose levels that occur during diabetes impair beta-cell insulin secretion and have been shown experimentally to suppress insulin translation. Whether translation of other genes critical for insulin secretion are similarly downregulated by chronic high glucose is unknown. Here, we used high-throughput ribosome profiling and nascent proteomics in MIN6 insulinoma cells to elucidate the genome-wide impact of sustained high glucose on beta-cell mRNA translation. Prior to induction of ER stress or suppression of global translation, sustained high glucose suppressed glucose-stimulated insulin secretion and downregulated translation of not only insulin, but also of mRNAs related to insulin secretory granule formation, exocytosis, and metabolism-coupled insulin secretion. Translation of these mRNAs was also downregulated in primary rat and human islets following ex-vivo incubation with sustained high glucose and in an in vivo model of chronic mild hyperglycemia. Furthermore, translational downregulation decreased cellular abundance of these proteins. Our study uncovered a translational regulatory circuit during beta-cell glucose toxicity that impairs expression of proteins with critical roles in beta-cell function.
Project description:Adaptation of the islet β-cell insulin secretory response to changing insulin demand is critical for blood glucose homeostasis, yet the mechanisms underlying this adaptation are unknown. Here, we show that nutrient cues adapt insulin secretion by modulating chromatin state and transcription of genes regulating β-cell nutrient sensing and metabolism. Feeding stimulates histone acetylation at sites occupied by the chromatin-modifying enzyme Lsd1 in islets. We demonstrate that β-cell-specific deletion of Lsd1 leads to insulin hypersecretion, aberrant expression of nutrient response genes, and histone hyperacetylation, features we also observed in the db/db model of chronically increased insulin demand. Moreover, genetic variants associated with fasting glucose levels and type 2 diabetes risk are enriched at LSD1-bound sites in human islets, suggesting interindividual variation in β-cell functional adaptation in humans. These findings reveal nutrient state-dependent modulation of the islet epigenome and identify Lsd1 as a regulator of feeding-stimulated chromatin modification and adaptive insulin secretion.
Project description:Adult beta cells in the pancreas are the sole source of insulin in our body. Beta cell loss or increased demand for insulin, impose metabolic challenges because adult beta cells are generally quiescent and infrequently re-enter the cell division cycle. miR-17-92/106b is a family of proto-oncogene microRNAs, that regulate proliferation in normal tissues and in cancer. Here, we employ mouse genetics to demonstrate a critical role for miR-17-92/106b in glucose homeostasis and in controlling insulin secretion. Mass spectrometry analysis was performed on miR-17-92LoxP/LoxP;106-25-/- MEF lysate, without or with CRE-Adenovirus. miR-17-92LoxP/LoxP;106-25+/+ MEFs with GFP-Adenovirus served as controls. We demonstrate that miR-17-92/106b regulate the adult beta cell mitotic checkpoint and that miR-17-92/106b deficiency results in reduction in beta cell mass in-vivo. Furthermore, protein kinase A (PKA) is a new relevant molecular pathway downstream of miR-17-92/106b in control of adult beta cell division and glucose homeostasis. Therefore, contributes to the understanding of proto-oncogene miRNAs in the normal, untransformed endocrine pancreas, and illustrates new genetic means for regulation of beta cell mitosis and function by non-coding RNAs.