Article
Psychiatry
Angharad N. de Cates, Marieke A. G. Martens, Lucy C. Wright, Cassandra D. Gould van Praag, Liliana P. Capitao, Daisy Gibson, Philip J. Cowen, Catherine J. Harmer, Susannah E. Murphy
Summary: Depression is a prevalent illness with global impact. Current antidepressants are ineffective for a significant portion of patients, and 5-HT4 receptor agonists show potential in animal models and cognitive deficits. This study found that the 5-HT4 partial agonist prucalopride improved accuracy in identifying emotional faces in healthy participants, and inhibited activation in regions corresponding to the default mode network. However, there was no evidence of a positive bias in the neural processing of emotional faces with prucalopride treatment.
FRONTIERS IN PSYCHIATRY
(2022)
Article
Medicine, Research & Experimental
Kikuko Amo-Shiinoki, Katsuya Tanabe, Yoshinobu Hoshii, Hiroto Matsui, Risa Harano, Tatsuya Fukuda, Takato Takeuchi, Ryotaro Bouchi, Tokiyo Takagi, Masayuki Hatanaka, Komei Takeda, Shigeru Okuya, Wataru Nishimura, Atsushi Kudo, Shinji Tanaka, Minoru Tanabe, Takumi Akashi, Tetsuya Yamada, Yoshihiro Ogawa, Eiji Ikeda, Hiroaki Nagano, Yukio Tanizawa
Summary: The study reveals that there is a significant presence of dedifferentiation in diabetic islets in Japanese individuals, leading to beta cell loss. As the disease progresses, the proportion of dedifferentiated cells increases substantially, indicating that islet remodeling with dedifferentiation is the underlying cause of beta cell failure during the course of diabetes progression in humans.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Emily Esakov, Neha Nandedkar-Kulkarni, Ali G. Al-Dieri, Hannah Hafner, Brigid Gregg, Marcia F. McInerney
Summary: The newly established CD3FLAG-mIR transgenic mouse model shows phenotypic and metabolic changes in islets, characterized by enlargement, disorganization, increased serum insulin, and glucose intolerance. Transplantation of transgenic spleen cells into another mouse model also resulted in similar changes in islets, indicating the important impact of T cells on islet organization and function.
Review
Endocrinology & Metabolism
John T. Walker, Diane C. Saunders, Marcela Brissova, Alvin C. Powers
Summary: This review discusses the structure, function, and pathophysiology of human pancreatic islets, as well as the changes in islets in response to physiological challenges and diabetes. It also outlines current and future interventions for protecting, restoring, or replacing human islets. Additionally, the review highlights unresolved questions about human islets and areas needing further research.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Alexandra Martin, Gail J. Mick, Heather M. Choat, Alison A. Lunsford, Hubert M. Tse, Gerald G. McGwin, Kenneth L. McCormick
Summary: This study aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of oral GABA alone or in combination with GAD on the preservation of residual insulin secretion in recent-onset T1D. The results showed that neither GABA alone nor the combination of GABA and GAD-alum could preserve beta-cell function.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Jin-Yong Chung, Yongjie Ma, Dingguo Zhang, Hayden H. Bickerton, Eric Stokes, Sweta B. Patel, Hubert M. Tse, Joseph Feduska, Rob S. Welner, Ronadip R. Banerjee
Summary: Pancreatic beta-cell mass expands during pregnancy and regresses in the postpartum period. Single-cell RNA sequencing revealed transcriptional changes specific to beta-cells during gestation and the postpartum, including the induction of AP-1 transcription factor subunits and other genes involved in the immediate-early response. Furthermore, pregnancy and postpartum-induced changes varied within each endocrine cell type, as well as in endothelial cells and antigen-presenting cells within islets.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Razieh Musapour Soltan-Abad, Sorayya Kheirouri, Mehran Mesgari Abbasi, Mohammad Alizadeh, Monireh Khordadmehr
Summary: Exposure to SO2 led to a significant increase in blood glucose levels, while not significantly changing insulin and HbA1c serum levels and HOMA-IR. Furthermore, SO2 inhalation significantly reduced the number of beta cells and beta-alpha cell ratio in the pancreatic tissue.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH
(2021)
Review
Endocrinology & Metabolism
D. Walker Hagan, Sandra M. M. Ferreira, Gustavo J. J. Santos, Edward A. A. Phelps
Summary: GABA, a neurotransmitter produced in the islet, influences the activity of islet cells through multiple receptors and interacts with cellular metabolism. Loss or reduction of GABA in diabetic individuals may contribute to disease pathogenesis and dysfunction of islet cells.
FRONTIERS IN ENDOCRINOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Emma L. Vanderlaan, Joshua Sexton, Carmella Evans-Molina, Adrian Buganza Tepole, Sherry L. Voytik-Harbin
Summary: This study presents a novel three-dimensional microphysiological system (MPS) that improves the health and function of pancreatic beta cells. By incorporating a polymerizable collagen scaffold, the MPS restores biophysical support and mechanobiological cues to the islets, leading to increased viability and function. Experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of the MPS compared to traditional suspension culture formats.
Article
Endocrinology & Metabolism
Jean-Claude Henquin
Summary: Optimal metabolic homeostasis requires precise control of insulin secretion, which is influenced by various factors. Inconsistent findings between in vitro and clinical studies may result from extreme experimental conditions that do not reflect physiological relevance.
METABOLISM-CLINICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL
(2021)
Article
Psychiatry
Angharad N. de Cates, Lucy C. Wright, Marieke A. G. Martens, Daisy Gibson, Cagdas Turkmen, Nicola Filippini, Philip J. Cowen, Catherine J. Harmer, Susannah E. Murphy
Summary: In this study, short-term administration of the 5-HT4 partial agonist prucalopride improved memory performance and increased hippocampal and angular gyrus activity in healthy individuals, suggesting the potential of 5-HT4 receptor activation for cognitive enhancement in humans.
TRANSLATIONAL PSYCHIATRY
(2021)
Article
Cell Biology
Chien-Ting Wu, Keren Hilgendorf, Romina J. Bevacqua, Yan Hang, Janos Demeter, Seung K. Kim, Peter K. Jackson
Summary: Multiple G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are localized to primary cilia in pancreatic islet cells, with FFAR4 and PTGER4 stimulating cAMP signaling and hormone secretion. The transport of GPCRs to cilia requires TULP3, which plays a key role in regulating hormone secretion by islet cells.
GENES & DEVELOPMENT
(2021)
Article
Cell Biology
Angela Pelligra, Jessica Mrugala, Kerstin Griess, Philip Kirschner, Oliver Nortmann, Barbara Bartosinska, Andrea Koester, Natalia I. Krupenko, Dominik Gebel, Philipp Westhoff, Bodo Steckel, Daniel Ebernard, Diran Herebian, Bengt-Frederik Belgardt, Juergen Schrader, Andreas P. M. Weber, Sergey A. Krupenko, Eckhard Lammert
Summary: Type 2 diabetes is characterized by excessive and then reduced insulin secretion. The insulin secretagogues DXO and glibenclamide can enhance glucose-stimulated insulin secretion acutely, but reduce it chronically while protecting islets from cell death. Long-term stimulation of islets leads to increased expression of serine-linked mitochondrial OCM genes, altered metabolism, and activation of Atf4, which is required for islet protection and reduces insulin secretion.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Claudia Sepulveda-Quinenao, Juan M. Rodriguez, Francisco Diaz-Castro, Andrea del Campo, Roberto Bravo-Sagua, Rodrigo Troncoso
Summary: The study investigates the impact of glucocorticoid receptor beta on glucose uptake and storage in hepatocytes, showing that GR beta overexpression inhibits the induction of gluconeogenic genes by dexamethasone and has insulin-like actions.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
S. N. Patel, M. Ishahak, D. Chaimov, A. Velraj, D. LaShoto, D. W. Hagan, P. Buchwald, E. A. Phelps, A. Agarwal, C. L. Stabler
Summary: This study highlights the importance of a dynamic in vitro microenvironment for preserving the function of primary organoid models and demonstrates the utility of the MPS for in situ multiparametric assessment.
