Transcriptional analysis of islets of Langerhans from organ donors of different ages

Insulin secretion is impaired with increasing age. In this study, we aimed to determine whether aging induces specific transcriptional changes in human islets. Laser capture microdissection was used to extract pancreatic islet tissue from 37 deceased organ donors aged 1–81 years. The transcriptomes of the extracted islets were analysed using Ion AmpliSeq sequencing. 346 genes that co-vary significantly with age were found. There was an increased transcription of genes linked to senescence, and several aspects of the cell cycle machinery were downregulated with increasing age. We detected numerous genes not linked to aging in previous studies likely because earlier studies analysed islet cells isolated by enzymatic digestion which might affect the islet transcriptome. Among the novel genes demonstrated to correlate with age, we found an upregulation of SPP1 encoding osteopontin. In beta cells, osteopontin has been seen to be protective against both cytotoxicity and hyperglycaemia. In summary, we present a transcriptional profile of aging in human islets and identify genes that could affect disease course in diabetes.

The mechanism of hsa-miR-424-5 combining PD-1 through mTORC signaling pathway to stimulate immune effect and participate in Type 1 diabetes

In the present study, hsa-miR-424-5p mimic plasmid and hsa-mir-424-5p inhibitor plasmid were designed and injected into rats respectively, and miRNA control plasmid was also constructed. Models of Type 1 diabetes (T1D) were built. After successful modeling, the expression of hsa-miR-424-5p in lymphocytes was analyzed by RT-PCR. The expression of protein PD-1, T-bet, CXCR3, STING in Th1 lymphocytes and content of IGF-1 in islet tissue were analyzed by flow analysis. The protein levels of SHP2, Rheb, mTORC1, Rictor and Raptor in islet tissue were analyzed by Western blot. The results showed that hsa-miR-424-5p mimic group had the highest expression of hsa-miR-424-5p in lymphocytes. The expression of PD-1 was in hsa-miR-424-5p inhibitor > miRNA control > hsa-miR-424-5p mimic, while the expression of T-bet, CXCR3 and STING was in hsa-miR-424-5p mimic > miRNA control > hsa-miR-424-5p inhibitor. The expression of IGF-1 protein in hsa-miR-424-5p inhibitor group was the highest (32.08%) and hardly expressed in hsa-miR-424-5p mimic group (2.36%). The expression of SHP2, Rheb, mTORC1, Rictor and Raptor of insulin histoproteins were in hsa-miR-424-5p mimic group > miRNA control of > hsa-miR-424-5p inhibitor group, with statistical differences. It indicates that hsa-miR-424-5p binding PD-1 signaling molecules can stimulate the immune effect through the mTORC signaling pathway and participates in the pathogenesis of T1D.

In vitro pancreatic islet cluster expansion facilitated by hormones and chemicals

Tissue regeneration, such as pancreatic islet tissue propagation in vitro, could serve as a promising strategy for diabetes therapy and personalized drug testing. However, such a protocol has not been realized yet. Propagation could be divided by two steps, which are: (1) expansion in vitro and (2) repeat passaging. Even the in vitro expansion of the islet has not been achieved to date. Here, we describe a method to enable the expansion of islet clusters isolated from pregnant mice or wild-type rats by employing a combination of specific regeneration factors and chemical compounds in vitro. The expanded islet clusters expressed insulin, glucagon and somatostatin, which are markers corresponding to pancreatic β cells, α cells and δ cells, respectively. These different types of cells grouped together, were spatially organized and functioned similarly to primary islets. Further mechanistic analysis revealed that forskolin in our recipe contributed to renewal and regeneration, whereas exendin4 was essential for preserving islet cell identity. Our results provide a novel method for the in vitro expansion of islet clusters, which is an important step forward in developing future protocols and medium used for islet tissue propagation in vitro. Such method is important for future regenerative diabetes therapies and personalized medicine using large amounts of pancreatic islets derived from the same person.

Effect of taste receptor protein T1R3 on the development of islet tissue of the murine pancreas

Protein T1R3, the main subunit of sweet, as well as amino acid, taste receptor, is expressed in the epithelium of the tongue and gastro intestinal tract, in β–cells of the pancreas, hypothalamus, and numerous other organs. Recently, convincing witnesses of T1R3 involvement in control of carbohydrate and lipid metabolism, and control of production of incretines and insulin, have been determined. In the study on Tas1r3-gene knockout mouse strain and parent strain C57Bl/6J as control, priority data concerning the effect of T1R3 on the morphological characteristics of Langerhans islets in the pancreas, are obtained. In Tas1r3 knockout animals, it is found that the size of the islets and their density in pancreatic tissue are reduced, as compared to the parent strain. Additionally, a decrease of expression of active caspase-3 in islets of gene-knockouts is demonstrated. The obtained data show that the lack of a functional, gene encoding sweet-taste receptor protein causes a dystrophy of the islet tissue and associates to the development of pathological changes in the pancreas specific to type-2 diabetes and obesity in humans.

Rabbit Normal Regenerating Pancreas Extract induces rat BM-MSCs into Pancreatic Islet-like Structure Cells in vitro

Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BM-MSCs) could differentiate into Insulin Producing Cells(IPCs) with notable advantages. The present study tried to develop a method may be able to use a normal regenerating pancreas extract(N-RPE) medium to induce BM-MSCs into islet phenotype, in tests to assess how efficient method and simple duplicate the novel condition medium protocol is. Isolate and purify MSCs from rat bone marrow. BM-MSCs were differentiated into Adipogenic, Osteogenic and Myocardium and the lineages were assessed its multi-lineage potential. Islet differentiation medium, blending rabbit conditioned medium N-RPE, was administered to rat BM-MSCs. After 15 days, differentiation was evaluated by lineage-specific morphology and three stages could be observed: induced cells, islet like cells(ILCs) and islet like structures(ILSs). The morphology, SEM, DTZ staining, Mallory staining, HE staining and glucose stimulation demonstrated that the N-RPE could stimulate suitable development microenvironment to supply the islet differentiate from BM-MSCs. In addition, islet-related genes (ins/glu) expression and proteins(insulin/glucagon) expression suggested that culture medium rabbit N-RPE enhanced the rat BM-MSCs transdifferentiation efficiency. N-RPE derived from normal pancreas tissue could promote pancreas development of microenvironment and significantly enhance the transdifferentiation of BM-MSCs into ILSs. Results from this work will contribute to optimize the conditions of BM-MSCs and supply a new strategy for the development of islet tissue engineering.