The clonal isolation of putative adult pancreatic precursors has been an elusive goal of researchers seeking to develop cell replacement strategies for diabetes. We report the clonal identification of multipotent precursor cells from the adult mouse pancreas. The application of a serum-free, colony-forming assay to pancreatic cells enabled the identification of precursors from pancreatic islet and ductal populations. These cells proliferate in vitro to form clonal colonies that coexpress neural and pancreatic precursor markers. Upon differentiation, individual clonal colonies produce distinct populations of neurons and glial cells, pancreatic endocrine beta-, alpha- and delta-cells, and pancreatic exocrine and stellate cells. Moreover, the newly generated beta-like cells demonstrate glucose-dependent Ca(2+) responsiveness and insulin release. Pancreas colonies do not express markers of embryonic stem cells, nor genes suggestive of mesodermal or neural crest origins. These cells represent a previously unidentified adult intrinsic pancreatic precursor population and are a promising candidate for cell-based therapeutic strategies.

SUMMARY Maternal obesity impairs offspring health, but the responsible mechanisms are not fully established. To address this question, we fed female mice a high-fat/high-sugar diet from before conception until weaning and then followed the outcomes in the next three generations of offspring, all fed a control diet. We observed that female offspring born to obese mothers had impaired peripheral insulin signaling that was associated with mitochondrial dysfunction and altered mitochondrial dynamic and complex proteins in skeletal muscle. This mitochondrial phenotype persisted through the female germline and was passed down to the second and third generations. Our results indicate maternal programing of metabolic disease can be passed through the female germline and that the transfer of aberrant oocyte mitochondria to subsequent generations may contribute to the increased risk for developing insulin resistance.

Abnormalities in insulin action are the characteristics of type 2 diabetes. Dominant-negative muscle-specific IGF-I receptor (MKR) mice exhibit elevated lipid levels at an early age and eventually develop type 2 diabetes. To evaluate the role of elevated lipids in the progression of the diabetic state, MKR mice were treated with WY14,643, a peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR)-alpha agonist. WY14,643 treatment markedly reduced serum fatty acid and triglyceride levels within a few days, as well as muscle triglyceride levels, and subsequently normalized glucose and insulin levels in MKR mice. Hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamp analysis showed that WY14,643 treatment enhanced muscle and adipose tissue glucose uptake by improving whole-body insulin sensitivity. Insulin suppression of endogenous glucose production by the liver of MKR mice was also improved. The expression of genes involved in fatty acid oxidation was increased in liver and skeletal muscle, whereas gene expression levels of hepatic gluconeogenic enzymes were decreased in WY14,643-treated MKR mice. WY14,643 treatment also improved the pattern of glucose-stimulated insulin secretion from the perfused pancreata of MKR mice and reduced the beta-cell mass. Taken together, these findings suggest that the reduction in circulating or intracellular lipids by activation of PPAR-alpha improved insulin sensitivity and the diabetic condition of MKR mice.

Grants include NIH 5T32HD040135-12 (J.S.R.), R01 HD065435 (K.H.M.), NIH T32 HD049305 (J.L.S.) and ACOG Research Grant (M.B.S.). The authors report no conflicts of interest.

Leptin has metabolic effects on peripheral tissues including muscle, liver, and pancreas, and it has been successfully used to treat lipodystrophic diabetes, a leptin-deficient state. To study whether leptin therapy can be used for treatment of more common cases of type 2 diabetes, we used a mouse model of type 2 diabetes (MKR mice) that show normal leptin levels and are diabetic due to a primary defect in both IGF-I and insulin receptors signaling in skeletal muscle. Here we show that leptin administration to the MKR mice resulted in improvement of diabetes, an effect that was independent of the reduced food intake. The main effect of leptin therapy was enhanced hepatic insulin responsiveness possibly through decreasing gluconeogenesis. In addition, the reduction of lipid stores in liver and muscle induced by enhancing fatty acid oxidation and inhibiting lipogenesis led to an improvement of the lipotoxic condition. Our data suggest that leptin could be a potent antidiabetic drug in cases of type 2 diabetes that are not leptin resistant.