The excess accumulation of lipids in islets is thought to contribute to the development of diabetes in obesity by impairing ␤-cell function. However, lipids also serve a nutrient function in islets, and fatty acids acutely increase insulin secretion. A better understanding of lipid metabolism in islets will shed light on complex effects of lipids on ␤-cells. Adipose differentiation-related protein (ADFP) is localized on the surface of lipid droplets in a wide range of cells and plays an important role in intracellular lipid metabolism. We found that ADFP was highly expressed in murine ␤-cells. Moreover, islet ADFP was increased in mice on a high-fat diet (3.5-fold of control) and after fasting (2.5-fold of control), revealing dynamic changes in ADFP in response to metabolic cues. ADFP expression was also increased by addition of fatty acids in human islets. The downregulation of ADFP in MIN6 cells by antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) suppressed the accumulation of triglycerides upon fatty acid loading (56% of control) along with a reduction in the mRNA levels of lipogenic genes such as diacylglycerol O-acyltransferase-2 and fatty acid synthase. Fatty acid uptake, oxidation, and lipolysis were also reduced by downregulation of ADFP. Moreover, the reduction of ADFP impaired the ability of palmitate to increase insulin secretion. These findings demonstrate that ADFP is important in regulation of lipid metabolism and insulin secretion in ␤-cells. MIN6 cells; oleic acid; palmitic acid; high-fat diet; fasting THE CURRENT EPIDEMIC OF OBESITY is feared to increase the prevalence of type 2 diabetes due to its contribution to insulin resistance (38). However, excess adiposity and dyslipidemia commonly seen in obesity may have an additional role in the development of diabetes by directly damaging ␤-cells (45). Indeed, prolonged exposure to elevated levels of fatty acids impairs insulin secretion in vivo and ex vivo, a phenomenon termed "lipotoxicity" (16,47,50,56). Ceramide generation, an increase in reactive oxygen species, 12/15-lipoxygenase activation, and atypical protein kinase C activation are some of the mechanisms proposed for islet dysfunction and lipid-induced apoptosis (5, 44, 51, 52). On the other hand, lipids serve a nutrient function and are the principal energy source in islets deprived of exogenous nutrients (34, 54). Not only does acute exposure to fatty acids augment insulin secretion ex vivo, but a rise in fatty acids also facilitates glucose-stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS) after fasting in vivo (10). The activation of cell surface fatty acid receptor G protein-coupled receptor 40 (GPR40) plays a significant role in the augmentation of insulin secretion by fatty acids. However, cellular uptake of fatty acids is also believed to contribute to the insulin secretion by provision of lipid metabolites, including long-chain acyl-CoA and diacylglycerides (25,43,65). Thus, fatty acids play complex and seemingly contradictory roles in ␤-cells, which calls for a better understanding of fatty acid uptake, storage...

The reduction of functional β cell mass is a key feature of type 2 diabetes. Here, we studied metabolic functions and islet gene expression profiles of C57BL/6J mice with naturally occurring nicotinamide nucleotide transhydrogenase (NNT) deletion mutation, a widely used model of diet-induced obesity and diabetes. On high fat diet (HF), the mice developed obesity and hyperinsulinemia, while blood glucose levels were only mildly elevated indicating a substantial capacity to compensate for insulin resistance. The basal serum insulin levels were elevated in HF mice, but insulin secretion in response to glucose load was significantly blunted. Hyperinsulinemia in HF fed mice was associated with an increase in islet mass and size along with higher BrdU incorporation to β cells. The temporal profiles of glucose-stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS) of isolated islets were comparable in HF and normal chow fed mice. Islets isolated from HF fed mice had elevated basal oxygen consumption per islet but failed to increase oxygen consumption further in response to glucose or carbonyl cyanide-4-trifluoromethoxyphenylhydrazone (FCCP). To obtain an unbiased assessment of metabolic pathways in islets, we performed microarray analysis comparing gene expression in islets from HF to normal chow-fed mice. A few genes, for example, those genes involved in the protection against oxidative stress (hypoxia upregulated protein 1) and Pgc1α were up-regulated in HF islets. In contrast, several genes in extracellular matrix and other pathways were suppressed in HF islets. These results indicate that islets from C57BL/6J mice with NNT deletion mutation develop structural, metabolic and gene expression features consistent with compensation and decompensation in response to HF diet.

Currently there is no effective approach for monitoring early β-cell loss during islet graft rejection following human islet transplantation (HIT). Due to ethical and technical constraints, it is difficult to directly study biomarkers of islet destruction in humans. Here, we established a humanized mouse model with induced human β-cell death using adoptive lymphocyte transfer (ALT). Human islet grafts of ALT-treated mice had perigraft lymphocyte infiltration, fewer insulin β cells, and increased β-cell apoptosis. Islet-specific miR-375 was used to validate our model, and expression of miR-375 was significantly decreased in the grafts and increased in the circulation of ALT-treated mice before hyperglycemia. A NanoString expression assay was further used to profile 800 human miRNAs in the human islet grafts, and the results were validated using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. We found that miR-4454 and miR-199a-5p were decreased in the human islet grafts following ALT and increased in the circulation prior to hyperglycemia. These data demonstrate that our in vivo model of induced human β-cell destruction is a robust method for identifying and characterizing circulating biomarkers, and suggest that miR-4454 and miR-199a-5p can serve as novel biomarkers associated with early human β-cell loss following HIT.

Background Aberrant microRNA (miRNA) expression levels are associated with various graft rejections. We used our humanized mouse model with transplanted human islets to identify miRNAs in islet grafts related to xenograft rejection and circulating miRNAs associated with xenograft rejection‐mediated β‐cell loss. Methods Diabetic immunodeficient NOD.scid mice were transplanted with human islets and subsequently achieved stable normoglycemia. Lymphocytes from NOD mice were then adoptively transferred to the humanized mice to induce human β‐cell destruction. Islet graft and plasma were collected immediately once blood glucose reached >200 mg/dL. miRNAs in the islet grafts and in the plasma with or without adoptive lymphocyte transfer (ALT) were measured using NanoString nCounter® miRNA Expression Assay and qPCR. Results A set of immune‐related miRNAs was significantly increased in human islet grafts of ALT‐treated mice compared to control mice. Of these miRNAs, miR‐150‐5p was significantly increased in the circulation of ALT‐treated mice at tissue collection and the increase was a result of immune activation rather than simply the presence of lymphocytes in circulation. Furthermore, miR‐150‐5p was significantly increased in human islet graft and circulation prior to the development of hyperglycemia in the ALT‐treated mice. Conclusions Our data demonstrated that immune‐related miRNAs are associated with human islet xenograft rejection in mice. miR‐150‐5p is increased in human islet graft and in the circulation during islet xenograft rejection and β‐cell destruction prior to hyperglycemia and may be an early biomarker for islet xenograft rejection.

Pancreatic islets primarily involved in regulating blood glucose homeostasis are the key focus of diabetes study and miRNA-mediated molecular regulation. Whole mount in situ hybridization of miRNAs and co-localization of proteins is a powerful tool for studying cell-specific expression and regulation. Although many miRNAs are potential regulators of islet function and diabetes development, most of their cell specific expression remains unknown. We developed and optimized a protocol that combines fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) of miRNAs and immunofluorescence (IF) of two proteins at the same time in whole mount isolated intact islets for preserving islet morphology, eliminating the technical difficulties associated with handling isolated islets that are not amenable to conventional FISH, as well as for increasing sensitivity and resolution. This method can serve as a valuable tool for studying miRNA-mediated regulation of post-transcriptional gene expression in islet biology, diabetes research, and biomarker development.