Abstract

Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is an autoimmune disease characterized by autoreactive T cell-mediated destruction of insulin-producing pancreatic beta-cells. Loss of beta-cells leads to insulin insufficiency and hyperglycemia, with patients eventually requiring lifelong insulin therapy to maintain normal glycemic control. Since T1D has been historically defined as a disease of immune system dysregulation, there has been little focus on the state and response of beta-cells and how they may also contribute to their own demise. Major hurdles to identifying a cure for T1D include a limited understanding of disease etiology and how functional and transcriptional beta-cell heterogeneity may be involved in disease progression. Recent studies indicate that the beta-cell response is not simply a passive aspect of T1D pathogenesis, but rather an interplay between the beta-cell and the immune system actively contributing to disease. Here, we comprehensively review the current literature describing beta-cell vulnerability, heterogeneity, and contributions to pathophysiology of T1D, how these responses are influenced by autoimmunity, and describe pathways that can potentially be exploited to delay T1D.

Highlights

  • Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is a chronic autoimmune disease in which loss of beta-cell mass and subsequent insulin-insufficiency leads to hyperglycemia

  • Functional secretory granules, increased with high fat diet Immature, highly proliferative, Wnt+ (Become flattop+) Present in non-T1D setting, glucose responsive, express maturity markers Population appears in a T1D environment, resistant to immune killing, unresponsive to glucose, express stemness markers First to respond to calcium influx, other beta-cell response based on distance from these High levels of proinsulin and ribosomes, low insulin protein content, increased in db/db mice

  • We propose that an understanding of beta-cell dynamics prior to, during, and after immune-cell infiltration in T1D will be vital to development of therapies that can combat T1D development, but perhaps even precede and bypass it

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Summary

INTRODUCTION

Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is a chronic autoimmune disease in which loss of beta-cell mass and subsequent insulin-insufficiency leads to hyperglycemia. Beta-Cell Contributions to Autoimmune Diabetes among the highest rates, with values greater than 20 per 100,000 people [4]. Following a triggering event in genetically-susceptible individuals, immune effector cells infiltrate the pancreas and activate inflammatory pathways to mediate targeted destruction of insulinproducing beta-cells. We will explore inherent beta-cell heterogeneity and vulnerabilities, contributions to the local inflammatory environment, and how the beta-cell response to metabolic stress can perpetuate disease. Shifting focus from the beta-cell as a passive target to an active participant in disease progression will help identify novel therapeutic approaches, potentially leveraging these unique beta-cell responses and susceptibilities for both treatment and prevention of T1D. The metabolic demand associated with tightly regulated insulin secretion, paired with a highly vascularized environment, reduced antioxidant defense mechanisms, and sensitivity to proinflammatory cytokines, makes beta-cells uniquely susceptible to autoimmune-mediated destruction (Figure 1)

Secretory Demand
Oxidative Stress
Islet Vascularization and Exposure to Cytokines
Functional Diversity
Transcriptional Diversity
Mouse or Human
Human Human Human Human Both Both
Mouse Mouse
Chemokine Production
Targeting Oxidative Stress
Findings
CONCLUSIONS

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