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Regeneration of mature cells that produce functional insulin represents a major focus of current diabetes research aimed at restoring beta cell mass in patients with most forms of diabetes. The capacity to adapt in response to diverse physiological conditions during life and the consequent ability to cope for increased metabolic demands is a distinctive feature of the endocrine pancreas in the regulation of glucose homeostasis. Both beta and alpha cells are dynamically regulated to continually maintain a balance between proliferation, neogenesis, and apoptosis. In this proposal, the investigators will focus on exploring key mechanism(s) that potentially regulate islet cell plasticity in altered glucose metabolic states.
Investigators will explore in a unique cohort of individuals who undergo duodenal pancretectomy. Prior to their surgery will be performed in vivo studies (Hyperglycemic clamp, Euglycemic Hyperinsulinemic clamp and Mixed Meal Tests) to accurately assess glucose homeostasis parameters to classify each individual into metabolic phenotypes. Then exploit the opportunity to collect pancreas samples from these patients who will be evaluated again after surgery, the investigators will determine the ability of the remnant pancreas to compensate for the acute reduction in islet mass and perform correlations between ex vivo and in vivo parameters.
Specifically, the patients will be subjected to incretin secretion (mixed meal), metabolic status (OGTT), insulin secretion characteristics (first and second phase responses), β-cell insulin content evaluation (arginine bolus). Subsequently, pancreas samples will be evaluated for morphometry, and proteomics and gene expression analyses of islet cell samples obtain by laser capture will allow a detailed investigation of mechanisms that contribute to islet plasticity. The overall goal of this project is to investigate key mechanisms driving the ability of islet mass to adapt to diverse metabolic states. We aim to explore modifications in gene expression and proteomics and correlate them with specific metabolic phenotypes, in order to determine key regulators of islet morphology.
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TERESA MEZZA, MD, PHD
Data sourced from clinicaltrials.gov
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