Novel insulin sensitizer modulates nutrient sensing pathways and maintains β-cell phenotype in human islets.

Bibliographic Details
Title: Novel insulin sensitizer modulates nutrient sensing pathways and maintains β-cell phenotype in human islets.
Authors: Nidhi Rohatgi, Haytham Aly, Connie A Marshall, William G McDonald, Rolf F Kletzien, Jerry R Colca, Michael L McDaniel
Source: PLoS ONE, Vol 8, Iss 5, p e62012 (2013)
Publisher Information: Public Library of Science (PLoS), 2013.
Publication Year: 2013
Collection: LCC:Medicine
LCC:Science
Subject Terms: Medicine, Science
More Details: Major bottlenecks in the expansion of human β-cell mass are limited proliferation, loss of β-cell phenotype, and increased apoptosis. In our previous studies, activation of Wnt and mTOR signaling significantly enhanced human β-cell proliferation. However, isolated human islets displayed insulin signaling pathway resistance, due in part to chronic activation of mTOR/S6K1 signaling that results in negative feedback of the insulin signaling pathway and a loss of Akt phosphorylation and insulin content. We evaluated the effects of a new generation insulin sensitizer, MSDC-0160, on restoring insulin/IGF-1 sensitivity and insulin content in human β-cells. This novel TZD has low affinity for binding and activation of PPARγ and has insulin-sensitizing effects in mouse models of diabetes and ability to lower glucose in Phase 2 clinical trials. MSDC-0160 treatment of human islets increased AMPK activity and reduced mTOR activity. This was associated with the restoration of IGF-1-induced phosphorylation of Akt, GSK-3, and increased protein expression of Pdx1. Furthermore, MSDC-0160 in combination with IGF-1 and 8 mM glucose increased β-cell specific gene expression of insulin, pdx1, nkx6.1, and nkx2.2, and maintained insulin content without altering glucose-stimulated insulin secretion. Human islets were unable to simultaneously promote DNA synthesis and maintain the β-cell phenotype. Lithium-induced GSK-3 inhibition that promotes DNA synthesis blocked the ability of MSDC-0160 to maintain the β-cell phenotype. Conversely, MSDC-0160 prevented an increase in DNA synthesis by blocking β-catenin nuclear translocation. Due to the counteracting pathways involved in these processes, we employed a sequential ex vivo strategy to first induce human islet DNA synthesis, followed by MSDC-0160 to promote the β-cell phenotype and insulin content. This new generation PPARγ sparing insulin sensitizer may provide an initial tool for relieving inherent human islet insulin signaling pathway resistance that is necessary to preserve the β-cell phenotype during β-cell expansion for the treatment of diabetes.
Document Type: article
File Description: electronic resource
Language: English
ISSN: 1932-6203
Relation: http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3641131?pdf=render; https://doaj.org/toc/1932-6203
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0062012
Access URL: https://doaj.org/article/bc975e54597c422dabc6f327d40e0ddf
Accession Number: edsdoj.bc975e54597c422dabc6f327d40e0ddf
Database: Directory of Open Access Journals
More Details
ISSN:19326203
DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0062012
Published in:PLoS ONE
Language:English