Primary cilia control glucose homeostasis via islet paracrine interactions.

ABSTRACT: Pancreatic islets regulate glucose homeostasis through coordinated actions of hormone-secreting cells. What underlies the function of the islet as a unit is the close approximation and communication among heterogeneous cell populations, but the structural mediators of islet cellular cross talk remain incompletely characterized. We generated mice specifically lacking ?-cell primary cilia, a cellular organelle that has been implicated in regulating insulin secretion, and found that the ?-cell cilia are required for glucose sensing, calcium influx, insulin secretion, and cross regulation of ?- and ?-cells. Protein expression profiling in islets confirms perturbation in these cellular processes and reveals additional targets of cilia-dependent signaling. At the organism level, the deletion of ?-cell cilia disrupts circulating hormone levels, impairs glucose homeostasis and fuel usage, and leads to the development of diabetes. Together, these findings demonstrate that primary cilia not only orchestrate ?-cell-intrinsic activity but also mediate cross talk both within the islet and from islets to other metabolic tissues, thus providing a unique role of cilia in nutrient metabolism and insight into the pathophysiology of diabetes.

SUBMITTER: Hughes JW 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7184063 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature