Irisin administration restores beta-cell functional mass in a mouse model of type 2 diabetes

Abstract

Aim: Irisin is a hormone secreted by skeletal muscle able to improve metabolic homeostasis. Serum irisin levels are reduced in type 2 diabetes (T2D), while exogenous irisin administration improves glycemic control in diabetic mice. We have previously demonstrated that irisin promotes beta-cell survival and function both in vitro and in vivo in healthy wild type mice. We have also demonstrated that irisin restores the defective glucose-stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS) and reduces apoptosis in human pancreatic islets from patients with T2D. Nevertheless, the beta-cellular effects of in vivo irisin administration to T2D mice are still unknown. Methods: C57Bl/6 mice (n = 8) were fed a high-fat diet (HFD, 60% of energy deriving from fat) for 10 weeks and then intraperitoneally injected with streptozotocin (STZ, 100 mg/kg) to induce diabetes. Four standard diet (SD)-fed mice were used as control. HFD/STZ mice were treated with 0.5 μg/g irisin (n = 4) or vehicle (n = 4), for 14 days. Fasting glycemia, insulinemia, body weight, glucose tolerance, and pancreatic islet function were assessed. Pancreatic islet architecture was also evaluated through immunofluorescence analyses. Results: Compared to SD mice, HFD/STZ mice showed higher fasting glycemia and body weight, glucose intolerance, and reduced GSIS; in addition, HFD/STZ mice showed reduced islet volume (-78%), beta-cell area (-35%), and insulin content (-60%), and increased alpha-cell area (+54%). Irisin administration significantly restored glycemia (-31%), body weight (-13%), glucose tolerance (-27%), GSIS (+23%), islet volume (+61%), beta-cell area (+34%) and alpha-cell area (-49%), and insulin content (+36%). Of note, irisin induced a 9-fold increase in beta-cell proliferation rate. Conclusions: These results show that irisin improves glycemic homeostasis and restores the functional beta-cell mass when administered in vivo to diabetic mice, probably by promoting beta-cell proliferation.