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: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: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:We report the discovery of circadian clock-controlled alterantive pre-mRNA splicing in pancreatic beta cells and its role in insulin secretion. We performed RNA-sequencing in CRISPR-CAS9 edited Clock and Bmal1 knockout BetaTC6 cells and used differential mRNA expression and splicing analysis to identify and validate transcriptional and alternative splicing targets of the circadian clock regulating 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.
Project description:Defective insulin secretion by pancreatic β cells underlies the development of type 2 diabetes (T2D). High fat diet-fed mice are commonly used to study diabetes progression, but studies are usually limited to a single strain, such as C57Bl/6J. Here, we use a systems biology approach to integrate large phenotypic and islet transcriptomic data sets from six commonly used strains fed a high fat or regular chow diet to identify genes associated with glucose intolerance and insulin secretion. One of these genes is Elovl2, encoding very long chain fatty acid elongase 2. ELOVL2 is responsible for the synthesis of the polyunsaturated fatty acid, docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). We show that DHA rescues glucose-induced insulin secretion and cytosolic Ca2+ influx impaired by glucolipotoxicity, and that Elovl2 over-expression is able to restore the insulin secretion defect under these conditions. We propose that increased endogenous DHA levels resulting from Elovl2 up-regulation counteracts the insulin secretion defect associated with glucolipotoxicity. Although we focus our experimental validation on Elovl2, the comprehensive data set and integrative network model we used to identify this candidate gene represents an important novel resource to dissect the molecular aetiology of β cell failure in murine models. 6 mouse strains, 4 time points, 2 diets
Project description:Defective insulin secretion by pancreatic β cells underlies the development of type 2 diabetes (T2D). High fat diet-fed mice are commonly used to study diabetes progression, but studies are usually limited to a single strain, such as C57Bl/6J. Here, we use a systems biology approach to integrate large phenotypic and islet transcriptomic data sets from six commonly used strains fed a high fat or regular chow diet to identify genes associated with glucose intolerance and insulin secretion. One of these genes is Elovl2, encoding very long chain fatty acid elongase 2. ELOVL2 is responsible for the synthesis of the polyunsaturated fatty acid, docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). We show that DHA rescues glucose-induced insulin secretion and cytosolic Ca2+ influx impaired by glucolipotoxicity, and that Elovl2 over-expression is able to restore the insulin secretion defect under these conditions. We propose that increased endogenous DHA levels resulting from Elovl2 up-regulation counteracts the insulin secretion defect associated with glucolipotoxicity. Although we focus our experimental validation on Elovl2, the comprehensive data set and integrative network model we used to identify this candidate gene represents an important novel resource to dissect the molecular aetiology of β cell failure in murine models.
Project description:Insulin-secreting beta cells play an essential role in maintaining physiological blood glucose levels, and their dysfunction leads to the development of diabetes. To elucidate the signaling events regulating insulin secretion, we applied a recently developed proteomics and phosphoproteomics workflow. We quantified the time-resolved phosphoproteome of beta cells following their exposure to glucose and in combination with small molecule compounds that promote insulin secretion. The quantitative phosphoproteome of 30,000 sites clustered into three main groups in concordance with the modulation of three key signaling pathways. In addition to their differential modulation of key cellular kinases, all compounds affected pathways regulating the cell cycle. A high-resolution time course revealed key novel regulatory sites in early and late insulin secretion, and unexpected connections to epigenetic regulation of gene expression. Our comprehensive and multi-parametric phosphoproteomics study reveals that control of insulin secretion is embedded in an unexpectedly broad and complex range of cellular functions.