Diabetes results from the inability of pancreatic islets to maintain blood glucose concentrations within a normal physiological range. Clinical features are usually not observed until islets begin to fail and irreversible damage has occurred. Diabetes is generally diagnosed based on elevated glucose, which does not distinguish between type 1 and 2 diabetes. Thus, new diagnostic approaches are needed to detect different modes of diabetes before manifestation of disease. During prediabetes (pre-DM), islets undergo stress and release micro (mi) RNAs. Here, we review studies that have measured and tracked miRNAs in the blood for those with recent-onset or longstanding type 1 diabetes, obesity, pre-diabetes, type 2 diabetes, and gestational diabetes. We summarize the findings on miRNA signatures with the potential to stage progression of different modes of diabetes. Advances in identifying selective biomarker signatures may aid in early detection and classification of diabetic conditions and treatments to prevent and reverse diabetes.

Pancreatic islets produce and secrete cytokines and chemokines in response to inflammatory and metabolic stress. The physiological role of these “isletokines” in health and disease is largely unknown. We observed that islets release multiple inflammatory mediators in patients undergoing islet transplants within hours of infusion. The proinflammatory cytokine interferon-γ–induced protein 10 (IP-10/CXCL10) was among the highest released, and high levels correlated with poor islet transplant outcomes. Transgenic mouse studies confirmed that donor islet–specific expression of IP-10 contributed to islet inflammation and loss of β-cell function in islet grafts. The effects of islet-derived IP-10 could be blocked by treatment of donor islets and recipient mice with anti–IP-10 neutralizing monoclonal antibody. In vitro studies showed induction of the IP-10 gene was mediated by calcineurin-dependent NFAT signaling in pancreatic β-cells in response to oxidative or inflammatory stress. Sustained association of NFAT and p300 histone acetyltransferase with the IP-10 gene required p38 and c-Jun N-terminal kinase mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) activity, which differentially regulated IP-10 expression and subsequent protein release. Overall, these findings elucidate an NFAT-MAPK signaling paradigm for induction of isletokine expression in β-cells and reveal IP-10 as a primary therapeutic target to prevent β-cell–induced inflammatory loss of graft function after islet cell transplantation.

Aims/hypothesis Pancreatic islets produce non-coding microRNAs (miRNAs) that regulate islet cell function and survival. Our earlier investigations revealed that human islets undergo significant damage due to various types of stresses following transplantation and release miRNAs. Here, we sought to identify and validate exosomal miRNAs (exo-miRNAs) produced by human islets under conditions of cellular stress, preceding loss of cell function and death. We also aimed to identify islet stress signalling pathways targeted by exo-miRNAs to elucidate potential regulatory roles in islet cell stress. Methods Human islets were subjected to proinflammatory cytokine and hypoxic cell stress and miRNA from exosomes was isolated for RNA sequencing and analysis. Stress-induced exo-miRNAs were evaluated for kinetics of expression and release by intact islets for up to 48 h exposure to cytokines and hypoxia. A subset of stress-induced exo-miRNAs were assessed for recovery and detection as biomarkers of islet cell stress in a diabetic nude mouse xenotransplant model and in patients undergoing total pancreatectomy with islet auto-transplantation (TPIAT). Genes and signalling pathways targeted by stress-induced exo-miRNAs were identified by Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analysis and direct interactions of miRNAs with downstream signalling targets were validated in human islet cells using the miRNA Tests for Read Analysis and Prediction (MirTrap) system. Results Global exo-miRNA sequencing revealed that 879 miRNA species were released from human islets and 190 islet exo-miRNAs were differentially expressed in response to proinflammatory cytokines, hypoxia or both. Release of exo-miRNAs hsa-miR-29b-3p and hsa-miR-216a-5p was detected within 6 h of exposure to cytokines and hypoxia. The remaining subset of stressinduced exo-miRNAs, including hsa-miR-148a-3p and islet cell damage marker hsa-miR-375, showed delayed release at 24-48 h, correlating with apoptosis and cell death. Stress and damage exo-miRNAs were significantly elevated in the circulation in human-to-mouse xenotransplant models and in human transplant recipients. Elevated blood exo-miRNAs negatively correlated with post-transplant islet function based on comparisons of stress and damage exo-miRNA indices with Secretory Unit of Islet Transplant Objects (SUITO) indices. KEGG analysis and further validation of exo-miRNA targets by MirTrap analysis revealed significant enrichment of islet mRNAs involved in phosphoinositide 3-kinase/Akt and mitogen-activated protein kinase signalling pathways. Conclusions/interpretation The study identifies exo-miRNAs differentially expressed and released by islets in response to damage and stress. These exo-miRNAs could serve as potential biomarkers for assessing islet damage and predicting outcomes in islet transplantation. Notably, exo-miRNAs 29b-3p and 216a-5p could be detected in islets prior to damage-released miRNAs and indicators of cellular apoptosis and death. Thus, these stress-induced exo-miRNAs may have potential diag...

High-quality pancreatic islets are essential for better posttransplantation endocrine function in total pancreatectomy with islet autotransplantation (TPIAT), yet stress during the isolation process affects quality and yield. We analyzed islet-enriched microRNAs (miRNAs) -375 and -200c released during isolation to assess damage and correlated the data with posttransplantation endocrine function. The absolute concentration of miR-375, miR-200c, and C-peptide was measured in various islet isolation steps, including digestion, dilution, recombination, purification, and bagging, in 12 cases of TPIAT. Posttransplantation glycemic control was monitored through C-peptide, hemoglobin A , insulin requirement, and SUITO index. The amount of miR-375 released was significantly higher during enzymatic digestion followed by the islet bagging (P < .001). Mir-200c mirrored these changes, albeit at lower concentrations. In contrast, the C-peptide amount was significantly higher in the purification and bagging steps (P < .001). Lower amounts of miR-375 were associated with a lower 6-month insulin requirement (P = .01) and lower hemoglobin A (P = .04). Measurement of the absolute quantity of miRNA-375 and -200c released during islet isolation is a useful tool to assess islet damage. The quantity of released miRNA is indicative of posttransplantation endocrine function in TPIAT patients.

The human liver’s capacity to rapidly regenerate to a full‐sized functional organ after resection has allowed successful outcomes for living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) procedures. However, the ability to detect and track physiological changes occurring during liver regeneration after resection and throughout the restoration process is still lacking. We performed a comprehensive whole‐transcriptome RNA sequencing analysis of liver and circulating blood tissue from 12 healthy LDLT donors to define biomarker signatures for monitoring physiological activities during liver regeneration at 14 time points for up to a 1‐year procedural follow‐up. LDLT donor liver tissue differentially expressed 1238 coding and noncoding genes after resection, and an additional 1260 genes were selectively regulated after LDLT. A total of 15,011 RNA transcript species were identified in the blood in response to liver resection. The transcripts most highly regulated were sequentially expressed within 3 distinct peaks that correlated with sets of functional genes involved in the induction of liver resection–specific innate immune response (peak 1), activation of the complement system (peak 2), and platelet activation and erythropoiesis (peak 3). Each peak corresponded with progressive phases of extracellular matrix degradation, remodeling, and organization during liver restoration. These processes could be tracked by distinct molecular signatures of up‐regulated and down‐regulated gene profiles in the blood during phases of liver repair and regeneration. In conclusion, the results establish temporal and dynamic transcriptional patterns of gene expression following surgical liver resection that can be detected in the blood and potentially used as biomarker signatures for monitoring phases of liver regeneration.

Exosomes are known for their ability to transport nucleic acid, lipid, and protein molecules, which allows for communication between cells and tissues. The cargo of the exosomes can have a variety of effects on a wide range of targets to mediate biological function. Pancreatic islet transplantation is a minimally invasive cell replacement therapy to prevent or reverse diabetes mellitus and is currently performed in patients with uncontrolled type 1 diabetes or chronic pancreatitis. Exosomes have become a focus in the field of islet transplantation for the study of diagnostic markers of islet cell viability and function. A growing list of miRNAs identified from exosomes collected during the process of isolating islets can be used as diagnostic biomarkers of islet stress and damage, leading to a better understanding of critical steps of the isolation procedure that can be improved to increase islet yield and quality. Exosomes have also been implicated as a possible contributor to islet graft rejection following transplantation, as they carry donor major histocompatibility complex molecules, which are then processed by recipient antigen-presenting cells and sensed by the recipient immune cells. Exosomes may find their way into the therapeutic realm of islet transplantation, as exosomes isolated from mesenchymal stem cells have shown promising results in early studies that have seen increased viability and functionality of isolated and grafted islets in vitro as well as in vivo. With the study of exosomes still in its infancy, continued research on the role of exosomes in islet transplantation will be paramount to understanding beta cell regeneration and improving long-term graft function.

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Mycophenolic acid (MPA) and its morpholino ester prodrug mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) are widely used in solid organ transplantation. These drugs prevent rejection due to their potent inhibition of inosine-5′-monophosphate dehydrogenase (IMPDH), an enzyme vital for lymphocyte proliferation. As a strategy to provide localized immunosuppression in cell transplantation, four mycophenolic acid prodrugs designed to release MPA by two distinct mechanisms were synthesized and characterized. A nitrobenzyl ether prodrug was effectively converted to MPA upon exposure to bacterial nitroreductase, while a propargyl ether was converted to the active drug by immobilized Pd 0 nanoparticles. In vitro, both prodrugs were inactive against IMPDH and exhibited reduced toxicity relative to the active drug, suggesting their potential for providing localized immunosuppression.