scholarly journals mTORC in β cells: more Than Only Recognizing Comestibles

2017 ◽  
Vol 216 (7) ◽  
pp. 1883-1885 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathrin Maedler ◽  
Amin Ardestani

The pathways regulating pancreatic β cell survival in diabetes are poorly understood. Here, Chau et al. (2017. J. Cell Biol. https://doi.org/10.1083/jcb.201701085) demonstrate that mTOR regulates the apoptotic machinery through binding to the ChREBP–Mlx complex to suppress TXNIP, thereby protecting pancreatic β cells in the diabetic setting by inhibiting oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction.

2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-19
Author(s):  
Yanmei Lou ◽  
Muyan Kong ◽  
Leyan Li ◽  
Yu Hu ◽  
Wenjun Zhai ◽  
...  

Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) is an autoimmune disease characterized by insulin deficiency due to pancreatic β-cell damage and leads to hyperglycemia. The precise molecular mechanisms of the etiology of T1DM are not completely understood. Oxidative stress and the antioxidant status of pancreatic β-cells play a vital role in the pathogenesis and progression of T1DM. The Keap1/Nrf2 signaling pathway plays a critical role in cellular resistance to oxidative stress. This study is aimed at investigating the role of the Keap1/Nrf2 signaling pathway in the progression of T1DM. An alloxan- (ALX-) stimulated T1DM animal model in wild-type (WT) and Nrf2 knockout (Nrf2-/-) C57BL/6J mice and a mouse pancreatic β-cell line (MIN6) were established. Compared with the tolerant (ALX exposure, nondiabetic) WT mice, the sensitive (ALX exposure, diabetic) WT mice exhibited higher blood glucose levels and lower plasma insulin levels. The Keap1/Nrf2 signaling pathway was significantly inhibited in the sensitive WT mice, which was reflected by overexpression of Keap1 and low expression of Nrf2, accompanied by a marked decrease in the expression of the antioxidative enzymes. Compared with WT mice, the Nrf2-/- mice had an increased incidence of T1DM and exhibited more severe pancreatic β-cell damage. The results of in vitro experiments showed that ALX significantly inhibited the viability and proliferation and promoted the apoptosis of MIN6 cells. ALX also markedly increased intracellular ROS production and caused DNA damage in MIN6 cells. In addition, the Keap1/Nrf2 signaling pathway was significantly inhibited in the damaged MIN6 cells. Moreover, Nrf2 silencing by transfection with Nrf2 siRNA markedly exacerbated ALX-induced MIN6 cell injury. Conclusively, this study demonstrates that inhibition of the Keap1/Nrf2 signaling pathway could significantly promote the incidence of T1DM. This study indicates that activation of Keap1/Nrf2 signaling in pancreatic β-cells may be a useful pharmacological strategy for the clinical prevention and treatment of T1DM.


2020 ◽  
Vol 16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jorge E. Vela-Guajardo ◽  
Salvador Garza-González ◽  
Noemí García

: Glucolipotoxicity-induced oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction of pancreatic β-cells are one of the mechanisms that have been related to the low insulin secretion and cell death during diabetes development. In early or non-chronic stages, the pancreatic β-cells respond to hyperglycemia or hyperlipidemia, stimulating insulin secretion. However, the chronic effect of both leads to the establishment of glucolipotoxicity which induces constant overstimulation of pancreatic β-cells, a condition that leads to cell death by apoptosis. The mechanism described, at this moment, is the accelerated mitochondrial dysfunction triggered by the high production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) due to excess nutrients. At first, mitochondria respond to over-nutrition accelerating oxygen consumption and consequently increasing the ATP synthesis. A permanent increase of ATP/ADP ratio leads to a constant inhibition of K+ ATP-channel and therefore a continuous insulin secretion accompanied by an increase in ROS. Finally, ROS accumulation compromises mitochondrial function due to the uncontrolled oxidation of proteins, lipids, and DNA generating functional alterations such as a drop of membrane potential, deregulation of mitochondrial dynamics, low rate of ATP synthesis and consequently the cell death. This review aims to describe the effect of glucolipotoxicity-induced oxidative stress and its relationship with mitochondrial dysfunction in β-cell during type 2 diabetes development.


2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 23
Author(s):  
Diana Gamboa ◽  
Carlos E. Vázquez ◽  
Paul J. Campos

Type-1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) is an autoimmune disease that has an impact on mortality due to the destruction of insulin-producing pancreatic β -cells in the islets of Langerhans. Over the past few years, the interest in analyzing this type of disease, either in a biological or mathematical sense, has relied on the search for a treatment that guarantees full control of glucose levels. Mathematical models inspired by natural phenomena, are proposed under the prey–predator scheme. T1DM fits in this scheme due to the complicated relationship between pancreatic β -cell population growth and leukocyte population growth via the immune response. In this scenario, β -cells represent the prey, and leukocytes the predator. This paper studies the global dynamics of T1DM reported by Magombedze et al. in 2010. This model describes the interaction of resting macrophages, activated macrophages, antigen cells, autolytic T-cells, and β -cells. Therefore, the localization of compact invariant sets is applied to provide a bounded positive invariant domain in which one can ensure that once the dynamics of the T1DM enter into this domain, they will remain bounded with a maximum and minimum value. Furthermore, we analyzed this model in a closed-loop scenario based on nonlinear control theory, and proposed bases for possible control inputs, complementing the model with them. These entries are based on the existing relationship between cell–cell interaction and the role that they play in the unchaining of a diabetic condition. The closed-loop analysis aims to give a deeper understanding of the impact of autolytic T-cells and the nature of the β -cell population interaction with the innate immune system response. This analysis strengthens the proposal, providing a system free of this illness—that is, a condition wherein the pancreatic β -cell population holds and there are no antigen cells labeled by the activated macrophages.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michele Mishto ◽  
Artem Mansurkhodzhaev ◽  
Teresa Rodriguez-Calvo ◽  
Juliane Liepe

Increasing evidence suggests that post-translational peptide splicing can play a role in the immune response under pathological conditions. This seems to be particularly relevant in Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) since post-translationally spliced epitopes derived from T1D-associated antigens have been identified among those peptides bound to Human Leucocyte Antigen (HLA) class I and II complexes. Their immunogenicity has been confirmed through CD4+ and CD8+ T cell-mediated responses in T1D patients. Spliced peptides theoretically have a large sequence variability. This might increase the frequency of viral-human zwitter peptides, i.e. peptides that share a complete sequence homology irrespective of whether they originate from human or viral antigens, thereby impinging upon the discrimination between self and non-self antigens by T cells. This might increase the risk of autoimmune responses triggered by viral infections. Since enteroviruses and other viral infections have historically been associated with T1D, we investigated whether cis-spliced peptides derived from selected viruses might be able to trigger CD8+ T cell-mediated autoimmunity. We computed in silico viral-human non-spliced and cis-spliced zwitter epitope candidates, and prioritized peptide candidates based on: (i) their binding affinity to HLA class I complexes, (ii) human pancreatic β cell and medullary thymic epithelial cell (mTEC) antigens’ mRNA expression, (iii) antigen association with T1D, and (iv) potential hotspot regions in those antigens. Neglecting potential T cell receptor (TCR) degeneracy, no viral-human zwitter non-spliced peptide was found to be an optimal candidate to trigger a virus-induced CD8+ T cell response against human pancreatic β cells. Conversely, we identified some zwitter peptide candidates, which may be produced by proteasome-catalyzed peptide splicing, and might increase the likelihood of pancreatic β cells recognition by virus-specific CD8+ T cell clones, therefore promoting β cell destruction in the context of viral infections.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ping Gu ◽  
Yuege Lin ◽  
Qi Wan ◽  
Dongming Su ◽  
Qun Shu

Background: Increased insulin production and secretion by pancreatic β-cells are important for ensuring the high insulin demand during gestation. However, the underlying mechanism of β-cell adaptation during gestation or in gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) remains unclear. Oxytocin is an important physiological hormone in gestation and delivery, and it also contributes to the maintenance of β-cell function. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of oxytocin in β-cell adaptation during pregnancy. Methods: The relationship between the blood oxytocin level and pancreatic β-cell function in patients with GDM and healthy pregnant women was investigated. Gestating and non-gestating mice were used to evaluate the in vivo effect of oxytocin signal on β-cells during pregnancy. In vitro experiments were performed on INS-1 insulinoma cells. Results: The blood oxytocin levels were lower in patients with GDM than in healthy pregnant women and were associated with impaired pancreatic β-cell function. Acute administration of oxytocin increased insulin secretion in both gestating and non-gestating mice. A three-week oxytocin treatment promoted the proliferation of pancreatic β-cells and increased the β-cell mass in gestating but not non-gestating mice. Antagonism of oxytocin receptors by atosiban impaired insulin secretion and induced GDM in gestating but not non-gestating mice. Oxytocin enhanced glucose-stimulated insulin secretion, activated the mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway, and promoted cell proliferation in INS-1 cells. Conclusions: These findings provide strong evidence that oxytocin is needed for β-cell adaptation during pregnancy to maintain β-cell function, and lack of oxytocin could be associated with the risk of GDM.


2020 ◽  
Vol 72 (6) ◽  
pp. 1725-1737
Author(s):  
Eloisa Aparecida Vilas-Boas ◽  
Noémie Karabacz ◽  
Gabriela Nunes Marsiglio-Librais ◽  
Maíra Melo Rezende Valle ◽  
Lisa Nalbach ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Free fatty acids (FFAs) are known for their dual effects on insulin secretion and pancreatic β-cell survival. Short-term exposure to FFAs, such as palmitate, increases insulin secretion. On the contrary, long-term exposure to saturated FFAs results in decreased insulin secretion, as well as triggering oxidative stress and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, culminating in cell death. The effects of FFAs can be mediated either via their intracellular oxidation and consequent effects on cellular metabolism or via activation of the membrane receptor GPR40. Both pathways are likely to be activated upon both short- and long-term exposure to FFAs. However, the precise role of GPR40 in β-cell physiology, especially upon chronic exposure to FFAs, remains unclear. Methods We used the GPR40 agonist (GW9508) and antagonist (GW1100) to investigate the impact of chronically modulating GPR40 activity on BRIN-BD11 pancreatic β-cells physiology and function. Results We observed that chronic activation of GPR40 did not lead to increased apoptosis, and both proliferation and glucose-induced calcium entry were unchanged compared to control conditions. We also observed no increase in H2O2 or superoxide levels and no increase in the ER stress markers p-eIF2α, CHOP and BIP. As expected, palmitate led to increased H2O2 levels, decreased cell viability and proliferation, as well as decreased metabolism and calcium entry. These changes were not counteracted by the co-treatment of palmitate-exposed cells with the GPR40 antagonist GW1100. Conclusions Chronic activation of GPR40 using GW9508 does not negatively impact upon BRIN-BD11 pancreatic β-cells physiology and function. The GPR40 antagonist GW1100 does not protect against the deleterious effects of chronic palmitate exposure. We conclude that GPR40 is probably not involved in mediating the toxicity associated with chronic palmitate exposure.


Cells ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (7) ◽  
pp. 1682
Author(s):  
Jeanne Guitton ◽  
Cécile L. Bandet ◽  
Mohamed L. Mariko ◽  
Sophie Tan-Chen ◽  
Olivier Bourron ◽  
...  

Obesity is a pathophysiological condition where excess free fatty acids (FFA) target and promote the dysfunctioning of insulin sensitive tissues and of pancreatic β cells. This leads to the dysregulation of glucose homeostasis, which culminates in the onset of type 2 diabetes (T2D). FFA, which accumulate in these tissues, are metabolized as lipid derivatives such as ceramide, and the ectopic accumulation of the latter has been shown to lead to lipotoxicity. Ceramide is an active lipid that inhibits the insulin signaling pathway as well as inducing pancreatic β cell death. In mammals, ceramide is a key lipid intermediate for sphingolipid metabolism as is sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P). S1P levels have also been associated with the development of obesity and T2D. In this review, the current knowledge on S1P metabolism in regulating insulin signaling in pancreatic β cell fate and in the regulation of feeding by the hypothalamus in the context of obesity and T2D is summarized. It demonstrates that S1P can display opposite effects on insulin sensitive tissues and pancreatic β cells, which depends on its origin or its degradation pathway.


2009 ◽  
Vol 296 (1) ◽  
pp. E1-E10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Taila Hartley ◽  
John Brumell ◽  
Allen Volchuk

Protein degradation in eukaryotic cells is mediated primarily by the ubiquitin-proteasome system and autophagy. Turnover of protein aggregates and other cytoplasmic components, including organelles, is another function attributed to autophagy. The ubiquitin-proteasome system and autophagy are essential for normal cell function but under certain pathological conditions can be overwhelmed, which can lead to adverse effects in cells. In this review we will focus primarily on the insulin-producing pancreatic β-cell. Pancreatic β-cells respond to glucose levels by both producing and secreting insulin. The inability of β-cells to secrete sufficient insulin is a major contributory factor in the development of type 2 diabetes. The aim of this review is to examine some of the crucial roles of the ubiquitin-proteasome system and autophagy in normal pancreatic β-cell function and how these pathways may become dysfunctional under pathological conditions associated with metabolic syndromes.


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