Diabetes is associated with beta cell mass loss and islet dysfunctions. mTORC1 regulates beta cell survival, proliferation and function in physiological and pathological conditions, such as pregnancy and pancreatectomy. Here we show that deletion of Raptor, which is an essential component of mTORC1, in insulin-expressing cells promotes hypoinsulinemia and glucose intolerance. Raptor-deficient beta cells display reduced glucose responsiveness and exhibit a glucose metabolic profile resembling fetal beta cells. Knockout islets have decreased expression of key factors of functional maturation and upregulation of neonatal markers and beta cell disallowed genes, resulting in loss of functional maturity. Mechanistically, Raptor-deficient beta cells show reduced expression of DNA-methyltransferase 3a and altered patterns of DNA methylation at loci that are involved in the repression of disallowed genes. The present findings highlight a novel role of mTORC1 as a core mechanism governing postnatal beta cell maturation and physiologic beta cell mass during adulthood.

The data support the view that pancreatic β-cells are dedifferentiated in patients with T2D with adequate glucose control. Furthermore, the existence of abundant dedifferentiated cells in NDCP suggests that inflammation-induced β-cell dedifferentiation can be a cause of pancreatogenic diabetes during disease progress.

Beta cell replication is the major component for maintenance of beta cell mass in adult rodents; however, little is known about what is the earliest signals that initiate rodent beta cell proliferation. The mTORC1 pathway integrates signals from growth factors and nutrients and regulates cell growth and survival. Here, we used normoglycemic 60 % partial-pancreatectomy (60 % Px) mouse model to determine whether mTORC1 pathway was required for compensatory beta cell proliferation. C57BL/6 J male mice were subjected to 60 % Px or sham operation, and subsequently treated with either rapamycin or vehicle for 7 days. Metabolic profile, pancreatic beta cell mass, and proliferation were examined, and expression levels of cell cycle regulators were determined. Beta cell proliferation was increased by 2.5-fold, and mTORC1 signaling was activated in islets post-Px. Rapamycin treatment impaired glucose tolerance and glucose stimulating insulin secretion in 60 % Px mice, but did not affect their insulin sensitivity in peripheral tissue. Rapamycin inhibited mTORC1 activity in beta cells, suppressed compensatory beta cell proliferation and growth, and reduced beta cell mass and insulin content in 60 % Px mice. Px caused an increase of the cyclin D2 at protein level and promoted cyclin D2 nuclear localization in an mTOR-dependent manner. Disrupting mTORC1 signaling suppressed cell proliferation and simultaneously diminished cyclin D2 protein abundance in RINm5F cells. Our data demonstrated that mTORC1 plays an essential role in beta cell adaption to significant beta cell mass loss in 60 % Px model and in early compensatory beta cell proliferation via cyclin D2 pathway.

Statins are cholesterol-lowering agents that increase the incidence of diabetes and impair glucose tolerance via their detrimental effects on nonhepatic tissues, such as pancreatic islets, but the underlying mechanism has not been determined. In atorvastatin (ator)-treated high-fat diet-fed mice, we found reduced pancreatic b-cell size and b-cell mass, fewer mature insulin granules, and reduced insulin secretion and glucose tolerance. Transcriptome profiling of primary pancreatic islets showed that ator inhibited the expression of pancreatic transcription factor, mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling, and small G protein (sGP) genes. Supplementation of the mevalonate pathway intermediate geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate (GGPP), which is produced by 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA (HMG-CoA) reductase, significantly restored the attenuated mTOR activity, v-maf musculoaponeurotic fibrosarcoma oncogene homolog A (MafA) expression, and b-cell function after ator, lovastatin, rosuvastatin, and fluvastatin treatment; this effect was potentially mediated by sGP prenylation. Rab5a, the sGP in pancreatic islets most affected by ator treatment, was found to positively regulate mTOR signaling and b-cell function. Rab5a knockdown mimicked the effect of ator treatment on b-cells. Thus, ator impairs b-cell function by regulating sGPs, for example, Rab5a, which subsequently attenuates islet mTOR signaling and reduces functional b-cell mass. GGPP supplementation could constitute a new approach for preventing statin-induced hyperglycemia.

Compromised β-cell identity is emerging as an important contributor to β-cell failure in diabetes; however, the precise mechanism independent of hyperglycemia is under investigation. We have previously reported that mTORC1/Raptor regulates functional maturation in β-cells. In the present study, we find that diabetic β-cell specific Raptor-deficient mice (βRapKOGFP) show reduced β-cell mass, loss of β-cell identity and acquisition of α-cell features; which are not reversible upon glucose normalization. Deletion of Raptor directly impairs β-cell identity, mitochondrial metabolic coupling and protein synthetic activity, leading to β-cell failure. Moreover, loss of Raptor activates α-cell transcription factor MafB (via modulating C/EBPβ isoform ratio) and several α-cell enriched genes i.e. Etv1 and Tspan12, thus initiates β- to α-cell reprograming. The present findings highlight mTORC1 as a metabolic rheostat for stabilizing β-cell identity and repressing α-cell program at normoglycemic level, which might present therapeutic opportunities for treatment of diabetes.

Immature pancreatic β-cells are highly proliferative, and the expansion of β-cells during the early neonatal period largely determines functional β-cell mass; however, the mechanisms are poorly characterized. We generated Ngn3RapKO mice (ablation of Raptor, an essential component of mechanistic target of rapamycin [mTORC1] in Ngn3+ endocrine progenitor cells) and found that mTORC1 was dispensable for endocrine cell lineage formation but specifically regulated both proliferation and identity maintenance of neonatal β-cells. Ablation of Raptor in neonatal β-cells led to autonomous loss of cell identity, decelerated cell cycle progression, compromised proliferation, and caused neonatal diabetes as a result of inadequate establishment of functional β-cell mass at postnatal day 14. Completely different from mature β-cells, Raptor regulated G1/S and G2/M phase cell cycle transition, thus permitting a high proliferation rate in neonatal β-cells. Moreover, Ezh2 was identified as a critical downstream target of mTORC1 in neonatal β-cells, which was responsible for G2/M phase transition and proliferation. Our discovery of the dual effect of mTORC1 in immature β-cells has revealed a potential target for replenishing functional β-cell pools by promoting both expansion and functional maturation of newly formed immature β-cells.

Context Beta-cell dedifferentiation was recently proposed as a mechanism of β-cell dysfunction, but whether it can be a trigger of β-cell failure preceding hyperglycemia in humans is uncertain. Pancreatic cancer can cause new-onset diabetes, yet the underlying mechanism is unknown. Objective To investigate whether β-cell dedifferentiation is present in nondiabetic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) patients, we examined pancreatic islets from 15 nondiabetic patients with benign tumors (control) and 15 nondiabetic PDAC patients. Design We calculated the number of hormone-negative endocrine cells and evaluated important markers of β-cell dedifferentiation and function in the paraneoplastic islets. We assessed tumor-related inflammatory changes under the pancreatic cancer microenvironment and their influence on β-cell identity. Results We found nearly 10% of nonhormone expressing endocrine cells in nondiabetic PDAC subjects. The PDAC islets were dysfunctional, evidenced by low expression of Glucose transporter 2 (GLUT2) and Urocortin3 (UCN3), and concomitant upregulation of Aldehyde Dehydrogenase 1 Family Member A3 (ALDH1A3) expression and proinsulin accumulation. Pancreatic cancer caused paraneoplastic inflammation with enhanced tissue fibrosis, monocytes/macrophages infiltration, and elevated inflammatory cytokines. Moreover, we detected β-cell dedifferentiation and defects in GSIS in islets exposed to PANC-1 (a cell line established from a pancreatic carcinoma of ductal origin from a 56-year-old Caucasian male)-conditioned medium. In a larger cohort, we showed high prevalence of new-onset diabetes in PDAC subjects, and fasting blood glucose (FBG) was found to be an additional useful parameter for early diagnosis of PDAC. Conclusions Our data provide a rationale for β-cell dedifferentiation in the pathogenesis of pancreatic cancer–associated diabetes. We propose that β-cell dedifferentiation can be a trigger for β-cell failure in humans, before hyperglycemia occurs.

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