scholarly journals Inhibition of the malate–aspartate shuttle in mouse pancreatic islets abolishes glucagon secretion without affecting insulin secretion

2015 ◽  
Vol 468 (1) ◽  
pp. 49-63 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jelena A. Stamenkovic ◽  
Lotta E. Andersson ◽  
Alice E. Adriaenssens ◽  
Annika Bagge ◽  
Vladimir V. Sharoyko ◽  
...  

Secretion of both glucagon and insulin is perturbed in Type 2 diabetes (T2D). In the present study, we identify a difference in mitochondrial shuttling between α- and β-cells that adjusts nutrient sensing and which potentially could be employed to specifically target secretion of either hormone.

2004 ◽  
Vol 286 (6) ◽  
pp. E1023-E1031 ◽  
Author(s):  
Isabelle Leclerc ◽  
Wolfram W. Woltersdorf ◽  
Gabriela da Silva Xavier ◽  
Rebecca L. Rowe ◽  
Sarah E. Cross ◽  
...  

Metformin, a drug widely used in the treatment of type 2 diabetes, has recently been shown to act on skeletal muscle and liver in part through the activation of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK). Whether metformin or the satiety factor leptin, which also stimulates AMPK in muscle, regulates this enzyme in pancreatic islets is unknown. We have recently shown that forced increases in AMPK activity inhibit insulin secretion from MIN6 cells (da Silva Xavier G, Leclerc I, Varadi A, Tsuboi T, Moule SK, and Rutter GA. Biochem J 371: 761–774, 2003). Here, we explore whether 1) glucose, metformin, or leptin regulates AMPK activity in isolated islets from rodent and human and 2) whether changes in AMPK activity modulate insulin secretion from human islets. Increases in glucose concentration from 0 to 3 and from 3 to 17 mM inhibited AMPK activity in primary islets from mouse, rat, and human, confirming previous findings in insulinoma cells. Incubation with metformin (0.2–1 mM) activated AMPK in both human islets and MIN6 β-cells in parallel with an inhibition of insulin secretion, whereas leptin (10–100 nM) was without effect in MIN6 cells. These studies demonstrate that AMPK activity is subject to regulation by both glucose and metformin in pancreatic islets and clonal β-cells. The inhibitory effects of metformin on insulin secretion may therefore need to be considered with respect to the use of this drug for the treatment of type 2 diabetes.


2011 ◽  
Vol 91 (3) ◽  
pp. 795-826 ◽  
Author(s):  
Per Westermark ◽  
Arne Andersson ◽  
Gunilla T. Westermark

Islet amyloid polypeptide (IAPP, or amylin) is one of the major secretory products of β-cells of the pancreatic islets of Langerhans. It is a regulatory peptide with putative function both locally in the islets, where it inhibits insulin and glucagon secretion, and at distant targets. It has binding sites in the brain, possibly contributing also to satiety regulation and inhibits gastric emptying. Effects on several other organs have also been described. IAPP was discovered through its ability to aggregate into pancreatic islet amyloid deposits, which are seen particularly in association with type 2 diabetes in humans and with diabetes in a few other mammalian species, especially monkeys and cats. Aggregated IAPP has cytotoxic properties and is believed to be of critical importance for the loss of β-cells in type 2 diabetes and also in pancreatic islets transplanted into individuals with type 1 diabetes. This review deals both with physiological aspects of IAPP and with the pathophysiological role of aggregated forms of IAPP, including mechanisms whereby human IAPP forms toxic aggregates and amyloid fibrils.


2020 ◽  
Vol 117 (5) ◽  
pp. 2484-2495 ◽  
Author(s):  
Volodymyr Petrenko ◽  
Nikhil R. Gandasi ◽  
Daniel Sage ◽  
Anders Tengholm ◽  
Sebastian Barg ◽  
...  

Circadian clocks operative in pancreatic islets participate in the regulation of insulin secretion in humans and, if compromised, in the development of type 2 diabetes (T2D) in rodents. Here we demonstrate that human islet α- and β-cells that bear attenuated clocks exhibit strongly disrupted insulin and glucagon granule docking and exocytosis. To examine whether compromised clocks play a role in the pathogenesis of T2D in humans, we quantified parameters of molecular clocks operative in human T2D islets at population, single islet, and single islet cell levels. Strikingly, our experiments reveal that islets from T2D patients contain clocks with diminished circadian amplitudes and reduced in vitro synchronization capacity compared to their nondiabetic counterparts. Moreover, our data suggest that islet clocks orchestrate temporal profiles of insulin and glucagon secretion in a physiological context. This regulation was disrupted in T2D subjects, implying a role for the islet cell-autonomous clocks in T2D progression. Finally, Nobiletin, an agonist of the core-clock proteins RORα/γ, boosted both circadian amplitude of T2D islet clocks and insulin secretion by these islets. Our study emphasizes a link between the circadian clockwork and T2D and proposes that clock modulators hold promise as putative therapeutic agents for this frequent disorder.


Biology ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 128
Author(s):  
Yaser Albadr ◽  
Andrew Crowe ◽  
Rima Caccetta

The prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus is rising globally and this disease is proposed to be the next pandemic after COVID-19. Although the cause of type 2 diabetes mellitus is unknown, it is believed to involve a complex array of genetic defects that affect metabolic pathways which eventually lead to hyperglycaemia. This hyperglycaemia arises from an inability of the insulin-sensitive cells to sufficiently respond to the secreted insulin, which eventually results in the inadequate secretion of insulin from pancreatic β-cells. Several treatments, utilising a variety of mechanisms, are available for type 2 diabetes mellitus. However, more medications are needed to assist with the optimal management of the different stages of the disease in patients of varying ages with the diverse combinations of other medications co-administered. Throughout modern history, some lead constituents from ancient medicinal plants have been investigated extensively and helped in developing synthetic antidiabetic drugs, such as metformin. Teucrium polium L. (Tp) is a herb that has a folk reputation for its antidiabetic potential. Previous studies indicate that Tp extracts significantly decrease blood glucose levels r and induce insulin secretion from pancreatic β-cells in vitro. Nonetheless, the constituent/s responsible for this action have not yet been elucidated. The effects appear to be, at least in part, attributable to the presence of selected flavonoids (apigenin, quercetin, and rutin). This review aims to examine the reported glucose-lowering effect of the herb, with a keen focus on insulin secretion, specifically related to type 2 diabetes mellitus. An analysis of the contribution of the key constituent flavonoids of Tp extracts will also be discussed.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
John T Walker ◽  
Diane C Saunders ◽  
Vivek Rai ◽  
Chunhua Dai ◽  
Peter Orchard ◽  
...  

A hallmark of type 2 diabetes (T2D), a major cause of world-wide morbidity and mortality, is dysfunction of insulin-producing pancreatic islet β cells. T2D genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified hundreds of signals, mostly in the non-coding genome and overlapping β cell regulatory elements, but translating these into biological mechanisms has been challenging. To identify early disease-driving events, we performed single cell spatial proteomics, sorted cell transcriptomics, and assessed islet physiology on pancreatic tissue from short-duration T2D and control donors. Here, through integrative analyses of these diverse modalities, we show that multiple gene regulatory modules are associated with early-stage T2D β cell-intrinsic defects. One notable example is the transcription factor RFX6, which we show is a highly connected β cell hub gene that is reduced in T2D and governs a gene regulatory network associated with insulin secretion defects and T2D GWAS variants. We validated the critical role of RFX6 in β cells through direct perturbation in primary human islets followed by physiological and single nucleus multiome profiling, which showed reduced dynamic insulin secretion and large-scale changes in the β cell transcriptome and chromatin accessibility landscape. Understanding the molecular mechanisms of complex, systemic diseases necessitates integration of signals from multiple molecules, cells, organs, and individuals and thus we anticipate this approach will be a useful template to identify and validate key regulatory networks and master hub genes for other diseases or traits with GWAS data.


2016 ◽  
Vol 101 (4) ◽  
pp. 1798-1806 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Vanderheiden ◽  
Lindsay B. Harrison ◽  
Jeremy T. Warshauer ◽  
Beverley Adams-Huet ◽  
Xilong Li ◽  
...  

Abstract Context: The mechanisms of action of incretin mimetics in patients with long-standing type 2 diabetes (T2D) and high insulin requirements have not been studied. Objective: To evaluate changes in β-cell function, glucagon secretion, and fat distribution after addition of liraglutide to high-dose insulin. Design: A single-center, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Setting: University of Texas Southwestern and Parkland Memorial Hospital clinics. Patients: Seventy-one patients with long-standing (median, 17 years) T2D requiring high-dose insulin treatment (>1.5 U/kg/d; average, 2.2 ± 0.9 U/kg/d). Intervention: Patients were randomized to liraglutide 1.8 mg/d or matching placebo for 6 months. Main Outcome Measures: We measured changes in insulin and glucagon secretion using a 4-hour mixed-meal challenge test. Magnetic resonance-based techniques were used to estimate sc and visceral fat in the abdomen and ectopic fat in the liver and pancreas. Results: Glycosylated hemoglobin improved significantly with liraglutide treatment, with an end-of-trial estimated treatment difference between groups of −0.9% (95% confidence interval, −1.5, −0.4%) (P = .002). Insulin secretion improved in the liraglutide group vs placebo, as measured by the area under the curve of C-peptide (P = .002) and the area under the curves ratio of C-peptide to glucose (P = .003). Insulin sensitivity (Matsuda index) and glucagon secretion did not change significantly between groups. Liver fat and sc fat decreased in the liraglutide group vs placebo (P = .0006 and P = .01, respectively), whereas neither visceral nor pancreatic fat changed significantly. Conclusions: Treatment with liraglutide significantly improved insulin secretion, even in patients with long-standing T2D requiring high-dose insulin treatment. Liraglutide also decreased liver and sc fat, but it did not alter glucagon secretion.


2017 ◽  
Vol 235 (1) ◽  
pp. 49-67 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joshua A Kulas ◽  
Kendra L Puig ◽  
Colin K Combs

The amyloid precursor protein (APP) has been extensively investigated for its role in the production of amyloid beta (Aβ), a plaque-forming peptide in Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Epidemiological evidence suggests type 2 diabetes is a risk factor for AD. The pancreas is an essential regulator of blood glucose levels through the secretion of the hormones insulin and glucagon. Pancreatic dysfunction is a well-characterized consequence of type 1 and type 2 diabetes. In this study, we have examined the expression and processing of pancreatic APP to test the hypothesis that APP may play a role in pancreatic function and the pathophysiology of diabetes. Our data demonstrate the presence of APP within the pancreas, including pancreatic islets in both mouse and human samples. Additionally, we report that the APP/PS1 mouse model of AD overexpresses APP within pancreatic islets, although this did not result in detectable levels of Aβ. We compared whole pancreas and islet culture lysates by Western blot from C57BL/6 (WT), APP−/− and APP/PS1 mice and observed APP-dependent differences in the total protein levels of GLUT4, IDE and BACE2. Immunohistochemistry for BACE2 detected high levels in pancreatic α cells. Additionally, both mouse and human islets processed APP to release sAPP into cell culture media. Moreover, sAPP stimulated insulin but not glucagon secretion from islet cultures. We conclude that APP and its metabolites are capable of influencing the basic physiology of the pancreas, possibly through the release of sAPP acting in an autocrine or paracrine manner.


2013 ◽  
Vol 27 (12) ◽  
pp. 1984-1995 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guy A. Rutter ◽  
David J. Hodson

The higher organization of β-cells into spheroid structures termed islets of Langerhans is critical for the proper regulation of insulin secretion. Thus, rodent β-cells form a functional syncytium that integrates and propagates information encoded by secretagogues, producing a “gain-of-function” in hormone release through the generation of coordinated cell-cell activity. By contrast, human islets possess divergent topology, and this may have repercussions for the cell-cell communication pathways that mediate the population dynamics underlying the intraislet regulation of insulin secretion. This is pertinent for type 2 diabetes mellitus pathogenesis, and its study in rodent models, because environmental and genetic factors may converge on these processes in a species-specific manner to precipitate the defective insulin secretion associated with glucose intolerance. The aim of the present minireview is therefore to discuss the structural and functional underpinnings that influence insulin secretion from human islets, and the possibility that dyscoordination between individual β-cells may play an important role in some forms of type 2 diabetes mellitus.


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