Takahiro Fukaishi 1,2), Yuko Nakagawa 1), Ayako Fukunaka 1), Takashi Sato 1), Akemi Hara 3,4), Keiko Nakao 4), Miwako Saito 5,6), Kenji Kohno 5), Takeshi Miyatsuka 3), Motoyuki Tamaki 7), Munehide Matsuhisa 7), Taka-aki Matsuoka 8), Tetsuya Yamada 2), Hirotaka Watada 3), Yoshio Fujitani 1) 1. Laboratory of Developmental Biology & Metabolism, Institute for Molecular and Cellular Regulation, Gunma University, Maebashi, Japan. 2. Department of Molecular Endocrinology and Metabolism, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo, Japan. 3. Department of Ｍetabolism＆Endocrinology, Juntendo University Graduate School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan. 4. Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Saitama Medical University, Saitama, Japan. 5. Institute for Research Initiatives, Nara Institute of Science and Technology, Nara, Japan. 6. Bio-science Research Center, Kyoto Pharmaceutical University, Kyoto, Japan. 7. Diabetes Therapeutics and Research Center, Institute of Advanced Medical Sciences, Tokushima University, Tokushima, Japan. 8. The First Department of Medicine, Wakayama Medical University, Wakayama, Japan.
About
In this study, we have discovered a special type of beta cell that differs in nature from previously characterized beta cells.
We found that the insulin-producing beta cells consist of seven subpopulations with different gene expression profiles. Among these subpopulations, we found a beta cell population with a gene expression profile similar to that of PP cells and named it Ppy-lineage beta cells. Ppy-lineage beta cells are less responsive to hyperglycemia but more resistant to hyperglycemic stress. As a result, in two diabetic mouse models, the percentage of Ppy-lineage beta cells in the residual beta-cells increased. This study provides a novel insight into functional heterogeneity of beta cells and elucidates part of the mechanism of diabetes onset and progression, which may lead to the development of new diabetes treatments.
Paper information
"Characterisation of Ppy-lineage cells clarifies the functional heterogeneity of pancreatic beta cells in mice". Diabetologia 2021 Sep 9. doi: 10.1007/s00125-021-05560-x.
Online URL
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34498099/
