Este estudo investigou se o tratamento com glicocorticoide durante a gestação altera o metabolismo energético, hormonal e molecular materno, a função das ilhotas pancreáticas e mudanças correlativas sobre miRNAs. Foram utilizadas 80 ratas dividas em dois grupos de 40 animais, sendo um grupo destinado para envelhecimento até um ano após o desmame da prole, e o seguinte grupo destinado para experimentação no 20º dia de gestação, ambos dispostos em: CTL - controle, CTL-Dex - controle tratadas com dexametasona por 6 dias, P - prenhes e P-Dex - prenhes tratadas com dexametasona do 14º-19º dia de gestação. A expressão de miRNA das ilhotas foram analisadas em larga escala. Os genes alvos foram rastreados em banco de dados e confirmados. Por fim, investigou-se o mecanismo de modulação da homeostasia glicêmica. Inúmeras modificações resultaram da terapia com DEXA na gestação concluindo que a associação do tratamento ao período gravídico modula positivamente membros da família miRNA-29 ocasionando um desequilíbrio na homeostasia glicêmica por meio de falha na maquinaria exocitótica em longo prazo, desencadeado pela modulação negativa de progesterona e seu receptor promovendo prejuízo no processo de remodelação da ilhota pancreática na fase final da gestação. / This study investigated whether treatment with glucocorticoids during pregnancy alters the energetic, hormonal and molecular maternal metabolism, function of pancreatic islets and correlative changes of miRNAs. Were used 80 rats divided into two groups of 40 animals, one group designed to aging up one year after weaning, and the next group destined to experimentation at 20th day of gestation, both arranged: CTL - control, CTL-Dex - control treated with dexamethasone for 6 days, P - pregnant rats and P-Dex - pregnant rats treated with dexamethasone from 14th to 19th day of pregnancy. Pancreatic islets were collected for large-scale analysis of miRNA expression. The target genes were screened and confirmed by qPCR. Finally it was investigated the mechanism of modulation of glucose homeostasis through qPCR and Western Blot. We can be observed numerous changes resulting from therapy with DEXA in pregnancy concluded that the association of treatment to the pregnancy period modulates members of the miRNA-29 family causing an imbalance in glucose homeostasis through long-term failure in exocytotic machinery, triggered by the downregulation of the progesterone and its receptor promoting injury in the pancreatic islet remodeling process in late pregnancy.

Beta-cell failure is a key step in the progression from metabolic disorder to overt type 2 diabetes (T2D). This failure is characterised by both secretory defects and loss of beta-cell mass, the latter most likely through increases in the rate of apoptosis. Although the mechanisms underlying these beta-cell defects are unclear, evidence suggests that chronic exposure of beta-cells to elevated fatty acid (FA) plays a role in disease development in genetically susceptible individuals. Furthermore, it has been postulated that endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress signalling pathways (the unfolded protein response; UPR) play a role in FA-induced beta-cell dysfunction. The broad aim of this thesis was to explore the nature of these relationships. Experiments detailed in this thesis demonstrate that MIN6 beta-cells mount a comprehensive ER stress response with exposure to elevated saturated fatty acid palmitate, but not the unsaturated fatty acid, oleate, within the low elevated physiological range. This response was time-dependent and involved both transcriptional and translational changes in UPR transducers and targets. The differential activation of ER stress in MIN6 beta-cells by saturated, but not unsaturated FA species may represent a mechanism of differential beta-cell death described in many studies with these FA. Furthermore, these experiments describe defects in ER to Golgi trafficking with chronic palmitate treatment, but not oleate or thapsigagin treatment, identifying this as a potential mechanism by which palmitate treatment induces ER stress. Moreover, these studies have shown the relevance to ER stress to a whole body model of T2D by demonstrating UPR activation in the islets of the db/db mouse. In conclusion, studies detailed in this thesis have demonstrated that ER stress occurs in in vitro and in vivo models of beta-cell lipotoxicity and apoptosis. In addition, these studies have identified defects in ER to Golgi trafficking as a mechanism by which palmitate treatment induces ER stress. These studies highlight the importance of ER stress in the development of T2D.

<p>IC2, a well known monoclonal autoantibody, derived from newly diabetic BB rat and seems to be an important biomarker for non-invasive functional imaging of beta cells in vivo. It specially and uniquely binds with pancreatic beta cells as confirmed in some previous studies. RIN-5AH is a pancreatic beta cell, which reacts with IC2 is used here to identify and characterize the molecular nature of the IC2 auto antigen by using TLC and HPTLC following by immuno-staining. An unpublished work already had done by Spitalnik et al, 1991 with another rat pancreatic beta cell (RINm5F) extracted glycolipids. In this study, the same work was done, not only with glycolipids from various cell lines but also lipids extracted from purified plasma membrane is made to confirm or refuge that IC2 was found to bind with only the glycolipids containing galactose-3-sulfate. This highly unique observation can however hardly explain the unique beta cell surface specificity without involvement of other more beta cell specific antigenic structures. We are therefore also searching the protein part involved in the auto antigenic determinant. Analyzing the molecular nature of IC2 binding auto-antigen, will help to understand both the role it might plays in the pathogenesis of insulin dependant diabetes. It could also help to elucidate the etiology of diabetes and finally to be a new serum autoantibody biomarker.</p>

<p>The development of diabetes mellitus depends on the balance between beta-cell proliferation and death. As mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPK) may control this balance, the aim of this study was to investigate the events leading to MAPK activation in beta-cells and the consequences of these events. Overexpression of the SH2-domain containing adaptor protein Shb resulted in the assembly and activation of multiunit complex consisting of at least Shb, IRS-1, IRS-2, FAK and PI3K. Consequently, the phosphorylation of Akt was enhanced under basal conditions in Shb overexpression cells. This was paralleled by an attenuated activation of the MAP kinases ERK1/2. Thus, Shb-induced alterations in the IRS-1/PI3K/Akt/ERK pathway might explain the increased proliferation and apoptosis of beta-cells overexpressing Shb.</p><p>The importance of the MAP kinase p38 in nitric oxide- and cytokine-induced beta-cell death was also investigated. Knock-down of p38 expression resulted in a lowered cell death rate in response to a nitric oxide donor. In transient transfections MKK3 over-expression resulted in increased p38 phosphorylation in RIN-5AH cells. In addition, a short-term MKK3 expression resulted in increased cytokine-induced cell death. A nitric oxide synthase inhibitor abolished the MKK3-potentiating effect on cytokine-induced cell death and inhibitors of phosphatases enhanced MKK3-stimulated p38 phosphorylation. Finally, as the dominant negative mutant of MKK3 did not affect cytokine-induced p38 phosphorylation, and as wild type MKK3 did not influence p38 autophosphorylation, it may be that p38 is activated by MKK3/6-independent pathways in response to cytokines and nitric oxide.</p><p>In further support for an MKK3/6-indepedent mechanism, the adaptor protein TAB1 significantly increased the cytokine- and nitric oxide-stimulated phosphorylation of p38. The TAB1-mediated activation of p38 was paralleled by a compensatory inhibition of ERK and JNK. In summary, p38 MAPK, activated mainly by TAB1, promotes, at least in part, beta-cell death in response to cytokines or nitric oxide.</p>

Ziel der vorliegenden Arbeit war es, die Auswirkungen von Glucose- und Lipidtoxizität auf die Funktion der β-Zellen von Langerhans-Inseln in einem diabetesresistenten (B6.V-Lepob/ob, ob/ob) sowie diabetessuszeptiblen (New Zealand Obese, NZO) Mausmodell zu untersuchen. Es sollten molekulare Mechanismen identifiziert werden, die zum Untergang der β-Zellen in der NZO-Maus führen bzw. zum Schutz der β-Zellen der ob/ob-Maus beitragen. Zunächst wurde durch ein geeignetes diätetisches Regime in beiden Modellen durch kohlenhydratrestriktive Ernährung eine Adipositas(Lipidtoxizität) induziert und anschließend durch Fütterung einer kohlenhydrathaltigen Diät ein Zustand von Glucolipotoxizität erzeugt. Dieses Vorgehen erlaubte es, in der NZO-Maus in einem kurzen Zeitfenster eine Hyperglykämie sowie einen β-Zelluntergang durch Apoptose auszulösen. Im Vergleich dazu blieben ob/ob-Mäuse längerfristig normoglykämisch und wiesen keinen β-Zelluntergang auf. Die Ursache für den β-Zellverlust war die Inaktivierung des Insulin/IGF-1-Rezeptor-Signalwegs, wie durch Abnahme von phospho-AKT, phospho-FoxO1 sowie des β-zellspezifischen Transkriptionsfaktors PDX1 gezeigt wurde. Mit Ausnahme des Effekts einer Dephosphorylierung von FoxO1, konnten ob/ob-Mäuse diesen Signalweg aufrechterhalten und dadurch einen Verlust von β-Zellen abwenden. Die glucolipotoxischen Effekte wurden in vitro an isolierten Inseln beider Stämme und der β-Zelllinie MIN6 bestätigt und zeigten, dass ausschließlich die Kombination hoher Glucose und Palmitatkonzentrationen (Glucolipotoxizität) negative Auswirkungen auf die NZO-Inseln und MIN6-Zellen hatte, während ob/ob-Inseln davor geschützt blieben. Die Untersuchung isolierter Inseln ergab, dass beide Stämme unter glucolipotoxischen Bedingungen keine Steigerung der Insulinexpression aufweisen und sich bezüglich ihrer Glucose-stimulierten Insulinsekretion nicht unterscheiden. Mit Hilfe von Microarray- sowie immunhistologischen Untersuchungen wurde gezeigt, dass ausschließlich ob/ob-Mäuse nach Kohlenhydratfütterung eine kompensatorische transiente Induktion der β-Zellproliferation aufwiesen, die in einer nahezu Verdreifachung der Inselmasse nach 32 Tagen mündete. Die hier erzielten Ergebnisse lassen die Schlussfolgerung zu, dass der β-Zelluntergang der NZO-Maus auf eine Beeinträchtigung des Insulin/IGF-1-Rezeptor-Signalwegs sowie auf die Unfähigkeit zur β- Zellproliferation zurückgeführt werden kann. Umgekehrt ermöglichen der Erhalt des Insulin/IGF-1-Rezeptor-Signalwegs und die Induktion der β-Zellproliferation in der ob/ob-Maus den Schutz vor einer Hyperglykämie und einem Diabetes. / The aim of the project was to investigate the impact of glucose- and fatty acid toxicity on β-cell function in a diabetes susceptible (New Zealand Obese, NZO) and resistant (B6.V-Lepob/ob, ob/ob)mouse model. Specifically, the molecular mechanisms of glucolipotoxicity-induced β-cell failure in the NZO mouse and pathways which contribute to protection of ob/ob mice against diet-induced type 2 diabetes should be elucidated. First, the animals were fed a fat-enriched carbohydrate-free diet which resulted in severe obesity and insulin resistance (lipotoxicity). Subsequently, mice were exposed to a carbohydrate-containing diet to induce conditions of glucolipotoxicity. This sequential dietary regimen provides a convenient method to induce rapid hyperglycaemia with β-cell destruction by apoptosis in a short time frame in NZO mice. In contrast, long-term exposure of ob/ob mice to the same dietary regimen leads to normoglycaemia and a protection against β-cell failure. The molecular mechanism behind carbohydrate-mediated β-cell destruction in NZO mice was an inactivation of the insulin/IGF-1 receptor signaling pathway including loss of phospho-AKT, phospho-FoxO1 and of the β-cell specific transcription factor PDX1. With the exception of FoxO1-dephosphorylation, ob/ob mice maintained this survival pathway and therefore were protected against loss of β-cells. The adverse effects of glucolipotoxicity on β-cells were verified in vitro by treatment of isolated NZO-islets and MIN6-cells under glucolipotoxic conditions. Only the combination of high glucose in the presence of palmitate caused deterioration of NZO-islets and MIN6-cells whereas ob/ob-islets were protected. The investigation of the insulin expression pattern showed, that glucolipotoxic conditions inhibited a glucose-induced increase in insulin expression in both, NZO and ob/ob islets. Furthermore, NZO and ob/ob-islets did not differ in glucose-stimulated insulin secretion. Expression profiling and immunohistochemical analyses of islets from NZO and ob/ob mice before and after carbohydrate intervention revealed a transient induction of a compensatory β-cell proliferation. During a 32 day carbohydrate feeding islet mass of ob/ob mice increased almost 3-fold. In conclusion, β-cell failure in NZO mice was induced via impairment of the insulin/IGF-1 signaling pathway and the inability to adequately increase β-cell mass by proliferation. Conversely, maintenance of the insulin/IGF-1 receptor signaling pathway and the induction of β-cell proliferation protected ob/ob mice against hyperglycaemia and type 2 diabetes.

The development of diabetes mellitus depends on the balance between beta-cell proliferation and death. As mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPK) may control this balance, the aim of this study was to investigate the events leading to MAPK activation in beta-cells and the consequences of these events. Overexpression of the SH2-domain containing adaptor protein Shb resulted in the assembly and activation of multiunit complex consisting of at least Shb, IRS-1, IRS-2, FAK and PI3K. Consequently, the phosphorylation of Akt was enhanced under basal conditions in Shb overexpression cells. This was paralleled by an attenuated activation of the MAP kinases ERK1/2. Thus, Shb-induced alterations in the IRS-1/PI3K/Akt/ERK pathway might explain the increased proliferation and apoptosis of beta-cells overexpressing Shb. The importance of the MAP kinase p38 in nitric oxide- and cytokine-induced beta-cell death was also investigated. Knock-down of p38 expression resulted in a lowered cell death rate in response to a nitric oxide donor. In transient transfections MKK3 over-expression resulted in increased p38 phosphorylation in RIN-5AH cells. In addition, a short-term MKK3 expression resulted in increased cytokine-induced cell death. A nitric oxide synthase inhibitor abolished the MKK3-potentiating effect on cytokine-induced cell death and inhibitors of phosphatases enhanced MKK3-stimulated p38 phosphorylation. Finally, as the dominant negative mutant of MKK3 did not affect cytokine-induced p38 phosphorylation, and as wild type MKK3 did not influence p38 autophosphorylation, it may be that p38 is activated by MKK3/6-independent pathways in response to cytokines and nitric oxide. In further support for an MKK3/6-indepedent mechanism, the adaptor protein TAB1 significantly increased the cytokine- and nitric oxide-stimulated phosphorylation of p38. The TAB1-mediated activation of p38 was paralleled by a compensatory inhibition of ERK and JNK. In summary, p38 MAPK, activated mainly by TAB1, promotes, at least in part, beta-cell death in response to cytokines or nitric oxide.

Diabetes or diabetes mellitus which is the correct medical term is a medical condition were the affected person lack the ability to regulate his or her blood glucose levels. This inability is directly due to the fact that the insulin producing cells, residing in the pancreas, can’t meet the body’s demand for insulin. It is estimated that close to 200 million people are suffering from diabetes today and this number is predicted to double within 20 years. Of the approximately 200 million people suffering from diabetes today approximately 20 million are in dependent on daily injections of insulin. Being dependent on exogenous insulin is not only an inconvenience it also increase the risk for several medical complications such as stroke, heart disorders, kidney failure, retinopathy, atherosclerosis and impaired wound healing. The major risk factor for all these complications is long periods of high blood sugar levels that is damaging to thin blood vessels and nerves.  Even in the best of situations the blood sugar levels of a diabetic with need for daily insulin injections can never be as well controlled as in a healthy individual. Increased understanding in the developmental processes behind the formation of the pancreas, and more specifically the insulin producing β-cells could result in new treatments for diabetics. By imitating the in vivo conditions generating pancreatic development scientist are now able to induce embryonic stem cells to differentiate into pancreatic progenitors as well as insulin producing β-cells in vitro. These in vitro generated pancreatic cells might in the future serve as a donor source for transplantations, thereby restoring the insulin producing capability of diabetic patients. An alternative approach to restore insulin production in diabetics is to influence cells in the pancreas to generate more insulin producing cells. To successfully achieve this, what cell types have the capacity to generate β-cells needs to be appreciated. In this thesis papers concerning in vitro differentiating of embryonic stem cells towards a pancreatic fate as well as in vivo studies in basic pancreas development are presented and discussed.

IC2, a well known monoclonal autoantibody, derived from newly diabetic BB rat and seems to be an important biomarker for non-invasive functional imaging of beta cells in vivo. It specially and uniquely binds with pancreatic beta cells as confirmed in some previous studies. RIN-5AH is a pancreatic beta cell, which reacts with IC2 is used here to identify and characterize the molecular nature of the IC2 auto antigen by using TLC and HPTLC following by immuno-staining. An unpublished work already had done by Spitalnik et al, 1991 with another rat pancreatic beta cell (RINm5F) extracted glycolipids. In this study, the same work was done, not only with glycolipids from various cell lines but also lipids extracted from purified plasma membrane is made to confirm or refuge that IC2 was found to bind with only the glycolipids containing galactose-3-sulfate. This highly unique observation can however hardly explain the unique beta cell surface specificity without involvement of other more beta cell specific antigenic structures. We are therefore also searching the protein part involved in the auto antigenic determinant. Analyzing the molecular nature of IC2 binding auto-antigen, will help to understand both the role it might plays in the pathogenesis of insulin dependant diabetes. It could also help to elucidate the etiology of diabetes and finally to be a new serum autoantibody biomarker.

Individuals under 20 years old have the highest risk of developing type 1 diabetes because their beta cells are destroyed at a faster rate than any other age group. Previous studies have looked at delaying and slowing down the rate of beta cell destruction through the use of anti-CD3 antibody treatments. Specifically, Teplizumab and Otelixizumab drug therapies have been used to treat individuals within 12 weeks of diagnosis. Previous studies done with Teplizumab and Otelixizumab have focused on individuals between 12 and 40 years old; however, there is little research done the effects of these treatments on individuals under 12 years old. Since type 1 diabetes is primarily diagnosed in children the purpose of this proposal is to further the knowledge of the preservation of beta cells in children with the use of Teplizumab and Otelixizumab drugs over 2 years. This study will also focus on the delay of onset type 1 diabetes with the use of Teplizumab in high-risk individuals under 20 years of age. The high-risk individuals will be determined by using genetic screening on individuals with an affected immediate family member. Individuals will also be tested to see if they carry insulin autoantibodies (IAA), protein tyrosine phosphate-related IA-2 molecule (IA-2A), islet cell antibodies (ICA), and glutamic acid decarboxylase (GADA). Individuals that test positive for carrying the DR3/DR4 alleles in the genetic screening and that have two or more autoantibodies present in their immune systems will be selected to participate. The purpose of this proposal is to further understand the impact of anti-CD3 antibody treatment on young individuals diagnosed with type 1 diabetes and to further understand if treatment in young individuals with anti-CD3 antibodies can delay or prevent the onset of type 1 diabetes.

Intranuclear rodlets (INRs) are poorly understood intranuclear bodies originally identified within neuronal nuclei on the basis of their unique morphology. Their mechanism of formation, biochemical composition and physiological significance are largely unknown. To gain insight into the molecular regulators of INR formation, mice with a conditional adult β cell-specific knockout of the master regulator of β-cell metabolism, Lkb1 protein kinase (LABKO mice) were studied. The proportion of beta cells containing INRs was significantly reduced in LABKO mice. Further examination ruled out mTOR and Mark2 as downstream effectors of Lkb1 knockout INR phenotype. Instead it identified the mTOR pathway as an independent regulator of INR formation. To investigate INR changes in a pathophysiological context, β cell INRs were examined in two models of human metabolic syndrome: (1) mice maintained on a high-fat diet and (2) leptin-deficient ob/ob mice. Significant INR reduction was observed in both models. Taken together, our results support the view that INR formation in pancreatic β cells is a dynamic and regulated process. The substantial depletion of INRs in LABKO and obese diabetic mice suggests their relationship to β cell function and potential involvement in diabetes pathogenesis. The significance of these findings was further underscored by the demonstration of INRs in human endocrine pancreas, suggesting their potential relevance to the development of metabolic syndrome in humans. The existence of biochemically distinct subtypes of INRs has been suggested by previous reports of differential immunological staining of INRs in neurochemically distinct neuronal populations. Here, a novel variant of INR has been identified that is immunoreactive for the 40kDa huntingtin associated protein and ubiquitin; and evidence was provided for the existence of additional INR subtypes sharing ubiquitin immunoreactivity as a common feature. Selective association of these INRs with melanin concentrating hormone and tyrosine hydroxylase immunoreactive neurons of the hypothalamus and the locus coeruleus was described. It was also demonstrated for the first time that biochemically distinct INR subtypes can co-exist within a single nucleus where they engage in non-random spatial interactions. These findings highlight the biochemical diversity and cell type specific expression of these enigmatic intranuclear structures. On the basis of these findings and previous literature a hypothesis is proposed as to the overall functional significance of INRs in the cell nucleus.