Project description:Blockade of the glucagon receptor (GCGR) has been shown to improve glycemic control. However, this therapeutic approach also brings side effects, such as α-cell hyperplasia and hyperglucagonemia, and the mechanisms underlying these side effects remain elusive. Here, we conduct single-cell transcriptomic sequencing of islets from male GCGR knockout (GCGR-KO) mice. Our analysis confirms the elevated expression of Gcg in GCGR-KO mice, along with enhanced glucagon secretion at single-cell level. Notably, Vgf (nerve growth factor inducible) is specifically upregulated in α cells of GCGR-KO mice. Inhibition of VGF impairs the formation of glucagon immature secretory granules and compromises glucagon maturation, lead to reduced α-cell hypersecretion of glucagon. We further demonstrate that activation of both mTOR-STAT3 and ERK-CREB pathways, induced by elevated circulation amino acids, is responsible for upregulation of Vgf and Gcg expression following glucagon receptor blockade. Thus, our findings elucidate a previously unappreciated molecular mechanism underlying hyperglucagonemia in GCGR blockade.
Project description:Glucagon supports glucose homeostasis by stimulating hepatic gluconeogenesis, in part by promoting the uptake and conversion of amino acids into gluconeogenic precursors. Genetic disruption or pharmacologic inhibition of glucagon signaling results in elevated plasma amino acids, and compensatory glucagon hypersecretion involving expansion of pancreatic α-cell mass. Regulation of pancreatic α- and β-cell growth has drawn a lot of attention because of potential therapeutic implications. Recent findings indicate that hyperaminoacidemia triggers pancreatic α-cell proliferation via an mTOR-dependent pathway. We confirm and extend these findings by demonstrating that glucagon pathway blockade selectively increases expression of the sodium-coupled neutral amino acid transporter Slc38a5 in a subset of highly proliferative α-cells, and that Slc38a5 is critical for the pancreatic response to glucagon pathway blockade; most notably, mice deficient in Slc38a5 exhibit markedly decreased α-cell hyperplasia to glucagon pathway blockade-induced hyperaminoacidemia. These results show that Slc38a5 is a key component of the feedback circuit between glucagon receptor signaling in the liver and amino acid-dependent regulation of pancreatic α-cell mass in mice.
Project description:Glucagon receptor (GCGR) is a potential target for diabetes therapy. Several emerging GCGR antagonism-based therapies are under pre-clinical and clinical development. However, the GCGR antagonism as well as GCGR deficient animal accompanied with α-cell hyperplasia and hyperglucagonemia, which may limit the application of GCGR antagonism. To better understand the physiological changes in the α cells during the GCGR disruption, we performed the single cell sequencing of α cells isolated from control and gcgr-/- zebrafish. We found that α cells in gcgr-/- zebrafish dramatically increased glucagon (both gcga and gcgb) expression, we also found that several transcriptional factors that regulate glucagon expression were also increased. Based on the sequencing data, we further experimentally confirmed that gcgr-/- up-regulated glucagon mRNA level by in situ hybridization, and the gcgr-/- increased glucagon promoter activity indicated by reporter line Tg(gcga: GFP). Moreover, our results also revealed that α cells increased glucagon granule population and glucagon level in gcgr-/- zebrafish. These data suggested that hyperglucagonemia in the organism of GCGR antagonism not only contributed by the α-cell hyperplasia but also contributed by the increased glucagon expression and secretion from α cells. Our study provided more comprehensive understanding of physiological changes of α-cell during the GCGR disruption.
Project description:Glucagon supports glucose homeostasis by stimulating hepatic gluconeogenesis, in part by promoting the uptake and conversion of amino acids into gluconeogenic precursors. Genetic disruption or pharmacologic inhibition of glucagon signaling results in elevated plasma amino acids and compensatory glucagon hypersecretion involving expansion of pancreatic a cell mass. Recent findings indicate that hyperaminoacidemia triggers pancreatic a cell proliferation via an mTOR-dependent pathway. We confirm and extend these findings by demonstrating that glucagon pathway blockade selectively increases expression of the sodium-coupled neutral amino acid transporter Slc38a5 in a subset of highly proliferative a cells and that Slc38a5 controls the pancreatic response to glucagon pathway blockade; most notably, mice deficient in Slc38a5 exhibit markedly decreased a cell hyperplasia to glucagon pathway blockade-induced hyperaminoacidemia. These results show that Slc38a5 is a key component of the feedback circuit between glucagon receptor signaling in the liver and amino-acid-dependent regulation of pancreatic a cell mass in mice.
Project description:Decreasing glucagon action lowers blood glucose and may be a useful therapeutic approach for diabetes. However, interrupted glucagon signaling in mice leads to hyperglucagonemia and α-cell hyperplasia. We show using islet transplantation, mouse and zebrafish models, an in vitro islet culture assay that a hepatic-derived, circulating factor in mice with interrupted glucagon signaling stimulates α-cell proliferation, which was dependent on mTOR signaling and the FoxP transcription factors. α-cells of transplanted human islets also proliferated in response to this signal in mice. A combination of liver transcriptomics and serum fractionation with proteomics/metabolomics found changes in hepatic gene expression relating to amino acid catabolism predicting the observed increase in serum amino acid levels. Amino acid concentrations that mimicked the levels in mice with interrupted glucagon signaling, specifically L-glutamine, stimulated α-cell proliferation. These results indicate a hepatic-α-islet cell axis where glucagon regulates serum amino acid availability and L-glutamine regulates α-cell proliferation via mTOR-dependent nutrient sensing.
Project description:Glucagon is secreted from pancreatic α-cells, and hypersecretion (hyperglucagonemia) contributes to diabetic hyperglycemia. Molecular heterogeneity in hyperglucagonemia is poorly investigated. By screening human plasma by high-resolution-proteomics, we identified several glucagon variants among which proglucagon 1-61 (PG 1-61) appears to be the most abundant form. PG 1-61 was secreted in obese subjects before and as well after gastric bypass surgery with protein and fat as the main drivers for secretion before surgery, but glucose after. Studies in hepatocytes and in β-cells demonstrated that PG 1-61 dose-dependently increased levels of cAMP, through the glucagon receptor, and increased insulin secretion and protein levels of enzymes regulating glycogenolysis and gluconeogenesis. As a consequence, PG 1-61 increased blood glucose and plasma insulin and decreased plasma levels of amino acids in vivo. Glucagon variants, such as PG 1-61, may contribute to glucose regulation by stimulating hepatic glucose production and insulin secretion.
Project description:Appropriate glucagon secretion from pancreatic alpha cells in response to hypoglycemia is an important component of maintaining glucose homeostasis. Dysregulated glucagon secretion leads to the delayed recovery from a hypoglycemic attack in type 1 diabetes patients which can be lethal. Although elucidating the precise mechanism of glucagon secretion in hypoglycemia is warranted, the underlying mechanism remains poorly understood.The present study provides evidence of the role of autophagy in glucagon secretion in hypoglycemia by demonstrating that autophagy regulates adrenergic stimulation of glucagon secretion downstream of beta2 adrenergic receptor. First, from the analyses of T1D human islets and the published database of scRNA-seq of T1D human alpha cells, we described autophagy pathways altered in T1D alpha cells. Second, we generated alpha cell-specific Atg7KO mice (alphaAtg7KO) and clarified that the lack of autophagy in alpha cells impairs the reactive glucagon secretion in acute hypoglycemia. Third, to interrogate the molecular mechanism of autophagy-mediated glucagon regulation, we analyzed top genes downregulated inT1D and T2D alpha cells and found the expression of beta2 adrenergic receptor showed significant down-regulation in T1D alpha cells. We confirmed the decreased expression of beta2 adrenergic receptor in alpha cells of the T1D pancreas section, the islets of alphaAtg7KO mice, and a murine alpha cell line with stable knockdown of Atg7. Furthermore, in vivo and ex vivo studies of alphaAtg7KO mice exhibited that lack of autophagy led to the loss of stimulatory effect of beta2-adrenergic signaling on glucagon secretion. Finally, we established the Atg7 knockdown model in sorted human alpha cells and confirmed the effect of autophagy on the expression of the beta2 adrenergic receptor. Together, our study provides novel insights into the regulatory role of autophagy in glucagon secretion in response to hypoglycemia and provides therapeutic options to achieve stable glycemic control in T1D patients.
Project description:The mechanisms restricting regeneration and maintaining cell identity upon injury are poorly characterized in higher vertebrates. Upon β-cell loss, 1-2% of the glucagon-producing α-cells spontaneously engage insulin production in mice. Here we explore the mechanisms of this plasticity. We show that the adaptive α-cell identity changes are constrained by intra-islet Insulin- and Smoothened-mediated signaling, among others. Combining β-cell loss, or insulin signaling inhibition, with Smoothened inactivation in α- or δ-cells, stimulates insulin production in more α-cells. These findings suggest that removing constitutive “brake signals” is crucial for neutralizing the refractoriness to adaptive cell-fate changes. It appears that cell identity maintenance is an active process mediated by repressive signals curbing an intrinsic trend of differentiated cells to change.