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Species-specific roles for the MAFA and MAFB transcription factors in regulating islet β cell identity

ABSTRACT: Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is associated with compromised identity of insulin-producing pancreatic islet beta (β) cells, characterized by inappropriate production of other islet cell-enriched hormones. Here we examined how hormone misexpression was influenced by the MAFA and MAFB transcription factors, closely related proteins that maintain islet cell function. Mice specifically lacking MafA in β cells demonstrated broad, population-wide changes in hormone gene expression with an overall gene signature closely resembling islet gastrin (Gast)-positive cells generated under conditions of chronic hyperglycemia and obesity. A human b cell line deficient in MAFB, but not one lacking MAFA, also produced a gastrin (GAST)-positive gene expression pattern. In addition, GAST was detected in human T2D β cells with low levels of MAFB. Moreover, evidence is provided that human MAFB can directly repress GAST gene transcription. These results support a novel, species-specific role for MafA and MAFB in maintaining adult mouse and human β cell identity, respectively, by repressing expression of Gast/GAST and other non-b cell hormones.

ORGANISM(S): Mus musculus

PROVIDER: GSE230728 | GEO | 2023/05/01

REPOSITORIES: GEO

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Project description:Pancreatic Beta-cells are essential for regulating blood glucose levels. Much of our knowledge relating to human Beta-cell development and function has depended on rodent models, which have provided a blueprint to confirm important cellular features in humans. The advent of next generation sequencing studies, however, has highlighted discrepancies in Beta-cells which exist between mice and men. The precise contribution of such differences has not yet been fully appreciated. Numerous studies have identified MAFB to be present in human Beta-cells postnatally, while its expression is restricted to embryonic and neo-natal Beta-cells in mice. Conversely, the related transcription factor MAFA is only active in mature murine Beta-cells and notably, knockout of MAFB has minimal effect on murine Beta-cell development and function, in contrast to MAFA. Using CRISPR/Cas9-mediated gene editing, coupled with endocrine cell differentiation strategies, we dissect the contribution of MAFB to Beta-cell development and function specifically in humans. MAFB knockout hPSCs have normal pancreatic differentiation capacity up to the progenitor stage, but favor somatostatin- and pancreatic polypeptide–positive cells at the expense of insulin- and glucagon-producing cells during endocrine cell specification. Our results uncover a requirement for MAFB late in the human pancreatic developmental program and identify it as a distinguishing transcription factor within islet cell subtype specification. Taken together, the current study demonstrates that MAFB has synonymous functions in mice and human Alfa and Beta-cell specification and uncovers previously unappreciated roles in other pancreatic endocrine cell types, in particular Gamma-cells. We propose that under-appreciated differences in rodent versus human pancreatic islet biology may be alleviated by expanding genetic observations in animal models by utilizing hPSCs to better model human Beta-cell development and associated disease pathophysiology such as diabetes.

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Species-specific roles for the MAFA and MAFB transcription factors in regulating islet β cell identity

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