Browsing by Subject "pancreatic islets"

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    miR-146a-5p mediates inflammation-induced β cell mitochondrial dysfunction and apoptosis
    (bioRxiv, 2024-03-19) Krishnan, Preethi; Branco, Renato Chaves Souto; Weaver, Staci A.; Chang, Garrick; Lee, Chih-Chun; Syed, Farooq; Evans-Molina, Carmella; Medicine, School of Medicine
    We previously showed that miR-146a-5p is upregulated in pancreatic islets treated with pro-inflammatory cytokines. Others have reported that miR-146a-5p overexpression is associated with β cell apoptosis and impaired insulin secretion. However, the molecular mechanisms mediating these effects remain elusive. To investigate the role of miR-146a-5p in β cell function, we developed stable MIN6 cell lines to either overexpress or inhibit the expression of miR-146a-5p. Monoclonal cell populations were treated with pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-1β, IFNγ, and TNFα) to model T1D in vitro. We found that overexpression of miR-146a-5p increased cell death under conditions of inflammatory stress, whereas inhibition of miR-146a-5p reversed these effects. Additionally, inhibition of miR-146a-5p increased mitochondrial DNA copy number, respiration rate, and ATP production. Further, RNA sequencing data showed enrichment of pathways related to insulin secretion, apoptosis, and mitochondrial function when the expression levels of miR-146a-5p were altered. Finally, a temporal increase in miR-146a-5p expression levels and a decrease in mitochondria function markers was observed in islets derived from NOD mice. Collectively, these data suggest that miR-146a-5p may promote β cell dysfunction and death during inflammatory stress by suppressing mitochondrial function.
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    The role of proteomics in assessing beta-cell dysfunction and death in type 1 diabetes
    (Taylor & Francis, 2019-06-24) Nakayasu, Ernesto S.; Qian, Wei-Jun; Evans-Molina, Carmella; Mirmira, Raghavendra G.; Eizirik, Decio L.; Metz, Thomas O.; Pediatrics, School of Medicine
    Introduction: Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is characterized by autoimmune-induced dysfunction and destruction of the pancreatic beta cells. Unfortunately, this process is poorly understood, and the current best treatment for type 1 diabetes is administration of exogenous insulin. To better understand these mechanisms and to develop new therapies, there is an urgent need for biomarkers that can reliably predict disease stage. Areas covered: Mass spectrometry (MS)-based proteomics and complementary techniques play an important role in understanding the autoimmune response, inflammation and beta-cell death. MS is also a leading technology for the identification of biomarkers. This, and the technical difficulties and new technologies that provide opportunities to characterize small amounts of sample in great depth and to analyze large sample cohorts will be discussed in this review. Expert opinion: Understanding disease mechanisms and the discovery of disease-associated biomarkers are highly interconnected goals. Ideal biomarkers would be molecules specific to the different stages of the disease process that are released from beta cells to the bloodstream. However, such molecules are likely present in trace amounts in the blood due to the small number of pancreatic beta cells in the human body and the heterogeneity of the target organ and disease process.