Activation of the Wnt/beta-catenin pathway in pancreatic beta cells during the compensatory islet hyperplasia in prediabetic mice

作者：Maschio D A; Oliveira R B; Santos M R; Carvalho C P F; Barbosa Sampaio H C L; Collares Buzato C B^*

来源：Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications, 2016, 478(4): 1534-1540.

DOI：10.1016/j.bbrc.2016.08.146

• Wnt/beta-catenin pathway
• Prediabetes
• Compensatory beta cell hyperplasia

The Wnt/beta-catenin signaling pathway, also known as the canonical Wnt pathway, plays a role in cell proliferation and differentiation in several tissues/organs. It has been recently described in humans a relationship between type 2 diabetes (T2DM) and mutation in the gene encoding the transcription factor TCF7L2 associated to the Wnt/beta-catenin pathway. In the present study, we demonstrated that hyper plastic pancreatic islets from prediabetic mice fed a high-fat diet (HFD) for 60 d displayed nuclear translocation of active p-catenin associated with significant increases in protein content and gene expression of beta-catenin as well as of cyclins Dl, D2 and c-Myc (target genes of the Wnt pathway) but not of Tcf7I2 (the transcription factor). Meanwhile, these alterations were not observed in pancreatic islets from 30 d HFD-fed mice, that do not display significant beta cell hyperplasia. These data suggest that the Wnt/beta-catenin pathway is activated in pancreatic islets during prediabetes and may play a role in the induction of the compensatory beta cell hyperplasia observed at early phase of T2DM.

• 出版日期2016-9-30