Les diabètes de type 1 et de type 2 sont caractérisés par une sécrétion insuffisante d’insuline et une diminution de la masse des cellules bêta. Pouvoir régénérer une masse de cellules bêta fonctionnelle est donc un enjeu thérapeutique dans le traitement du diabète. Dans cet optique, nous cherchons à identifier des facteurs et mécanismes permettant d’augmenter la masse de cellules bêta. Nous nous sommes intéressés aux mécanismes de plasticité des cellules bêta dans un contexte d’insulino résistance.Dans un modèle murin d’insulino-résistance provoquée par administration chronique de glucocorticoïdes, nous avons mis en évidence une adaptation de fonction des cellules bêta par hypersécrétion d’insuline. De manière intéressante une augmentation continue et progressive de la masse des cellules bêta par prolifération mais surtout par néogénèse de cellules bêta a pu être observée. Bien que la néogénèse de cellules bêta ait été décrite dans d’autres modèles murins comme un processus récapitulant le programme de différenciation fœtale c’est à dire dérivant de cellules canalaires marquées par l’expression de Sox9 et re-exprimant Ngn3, nos expériences de lignage endocrine ont révélé que les cellules bêta néoformées ne dérivent pas des cellules Sox9 ou Ngn3. L’invalidation du récepteur aux glucocorticoïdes (GR) dans le pancréas n’altère pas l’adaptation pancréatique par néogénèse dans notre modèle d’hypercorticisme, suggérant un effet indirect des GC sur la néogénèse de cellules bêta. Cette hypothèse a pu être confirmée par la mise en évidence de la présence dans le sérum des souris CORT d’un facteur capable de stimuler la néogénèse des cellules bêta in vitro. Enfin après déplétion totale des cellules bêta, l’administration de GC permet une restauration partielle de la masse de cellules béta par néogénèse.Nos résultats apportent la preuve d’une néogénèse active et induite de cellules bêta dans le pancréas adulte de souris insulino-résistantes. Cette adaptation pancréatique résulte d’une communication inter organe adaptative et l’identification du facteur pro-néogénique représente une piste thérapeutique pour les pathologies liées aux déficiences du pancréas endocrine. / Type 1 and type 2 diabetes are characterized by an insufficient insulin secretion and a decrease of beta cell mass. Regenerate a functional beta cell mass is a therapeutic issue in the treatment of diabetes. In this context we search to identify factors and mechanisms for increasing beta cell mass. We investigated mechanisms of beta cell plasticity in a context of insulin resistance.In a mouse model of insulin resistance caused by chronic administration of glucocorticoids, we demonstrated an adaptation of beta cell function by an important increase of insulin secretion. Interestingly, a continuous and progressive increase in the mass of beta cells by proliferation but especially by neogenesis of beta cells was observed.Although beta cell neogenesis has been described in other mouse models as a process recapitulating the fetal differentiation program deriving from ductal cells labeled with Sox9 expression and re-expressing Ngn3, our endocrine lineage model revealed that neoformed beta cells do not derive from Sox9 or Ngn3 cells. Inactivation of the glucocorticoid (GR) receptor in the pancreas does not alter pancreatic adaptation by neogenesis in our model of hypercorticism, suggesting an indirect effect of GCs on beta cell neogenesis. This hypothesis could be confirmed by demonstrating the presence in the serum of CORT mice of a factor able to stimulate neogenesis of beta cells in vitro. Finally, after complete depletion of beta cells, GC administration allows a partial restoration of the beta cells mass by neogenesis.Our results provide evidence of an active and induced beta-cell neogenesis in the adult pancreas of insulin-resistant mice. This pancreatic adaptation results from an inter-organ adaptive communication and the identification of the pro-neogenic factor represents a therapeutic track for pathologies related to endocrine pancreas deficiencies.

京都大学 / 0048 / 新制・論文博士 / 博士(医学) / 乙第13230号 / 論医博第2170号 / 新制||医||1036(附属図書館) / 京都大学大学院医学研究科医学専攻 / (主査)教授 中山 健夫, 教授 松田 文彦, 教授 富樫 かおり / 学位規則第4条第2項該当 / Doctor of Medical Science / Kyoto University / DFAM

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京都大学 / 新制・論文博士 / 博士(医学) / 乙第13533号 / 論医博第2273号 / 新制||医||1065(附属図書館) / 京都大学大学院医学研究科医学専攻 / (主査)教授 川口 義弥, 教授 斎藤 通紀, 教授 遊佐 宏介 / 学位規則第4条第2項該当 / Doctor of Medical Science / Kyoto University / DFAM

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Butylparaben (Butyl p-hydroxybenzoic acid) is a widely used cosmetic and pharmaceutical preservative that has been recently shown to induce oxidative stress and have endocrine disrupting effects in rodents, and promote adipocyte conversion of human adipose cells. Embryonic development is extremely sensitive to oxidative stress due to changes in cell growth, development and differentiation that occur during this life stage. Fluctuations in redox potentials play critical roles in normal embryonic development by guiding these cell signaling, cell-fate decisions and apoptosis. The most prevalent endogenous antioxidant that defends against oxidative stress is glutathione (GSH), which scavenges reactive oxygen species. The low antioxidant capacity of pancreatic beta cells suggests that they are sensitive target tissues of oxidative stress; this has yet to be investigated during embryonic development. Here, we aim to 1) determine whether embryonic exposure to butylparaben prompts structural and functional changes in the developing endocrine pancreas and 2) determine whether oxidative stress may be involved. Transgenic insulin-GFP zebrafish embryos were treated daily with 250, 500, 1,000 and 3,000 nM butylparaben starting at 3 hours post fertilization (hpf). Pancreatic islet and whole embryo morphological development were examined daily until 7 days post fertilization (dpf). Redox potentials were measured at 24 and 28 hpf using HPLC. Area of the pancreatic islet increased over time with increasing butylparaben exposure in a dose-dependent manner by as much as a 55% increase in islet area at 3 dpf when compared to controls. Butylparaben concentrations of 500 and 1,000 nM increased GSH by 10 and 40%, respectively, and decreased oxidized glutathione disulfide by 37 and 59%. GSH redox potentials were only significant in embryos collected at 28 hpf and became more reduced with 500 and 1,000 nM butylparaben exposure, decreasing redox potentials by 7 and 18 mV, respectively. Cysteine redox potentials also became more reduced, decreasing by 17 and 28 mV. Our data show that butylparaben-induced redox potential disruptions that may be responsible for the effects on pancreatic islet structure and function, but further studies are needed to determine how and if that directly affects pancreas development.

Poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a class of bioaccumulative toxicants used in numerous industrial and commercial products. Perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) alters pancreatic organogenesis during development, and perfluorohexanesulfonic acid (PFHxS) has been suggested as a replacement for PFOS due to its shorter carbon chain, but they are often found together in surfactants, such as legacy aqueous film-forming foam. This study investigates how developmental exposures to a PFAS mixture (PFHxS + PFOS) impact the developing exocrine pancreas. Zebrafish embryos (Tg(ptf1a:GFP)) were exposed to 0.01% DMSO, or 8, 16, 32 μM PFHxS alone, 16 μM PFOS alone, and 8, 16, and 32 μM PFHxS plus 16 μM PFOS. Embryos underwent refreshing exposures (3 hours post fertilization (hpf) - 96 hpf) or static exposures (3, 24, 48, or 72 hpf - 96 hpf) and then live imaging to quantify the truncated exocrine pancreas phenotype that occurred, and at what point in development it became apparent. PFAS mixtures significantly impacted growth parameters and exocrine pancreas length. The truncated pancreas phenotype was seen most often in the 16 μM PFHxS + 16 μM PFOS treatment group, so this concentration was used for subsequent experiments. Time lapse imaging (58 - 72 hpf, 80 - 96 hpf) and cellular proliferation assays (3 - 96 hpf) were used to ascertain the cause of the truncated phenotype as an issue of cellular migration or proliferation within the pancreas. Cell migration and proliferation were decreased in response to toxicant exposure. This study offers insights to how developmental exposures to toxicants may impact the pancreas.

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is the 3rd deadliest cancer in the United States with a projected 12% 5-year survival rate. Acinar cells have been proposed as a potential cell-of-origin for PDAC after undergoing acinar to ductal metaplasia (ADM). In the absence of oncogenic mutations (e.g. Kras), ADM lesions form as an adaptive response and eventually resolve to regenerate the acinar compartment, which we term as adaptive ADM. However, in the presence of oncogenic Kras mutations, the ADM lesions can transform to a pre-invasive state called pancreatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PanIN). Thus, a normally adaptive metaplastic response becomes maladaptive, which we term as oncogenic ADM. The mechanisms that drive PanIN formation in the context of injury and oncogenic mutations are poorly understood, resulting in an absence of targets to combat persistent ADM. This thesis investigates the role of FRA1 (gene name Fosl1) in acinar cell de-differentiation, PanIN transformation, and eventual PDAC tumorigenesis. Through CUT&RUN sequencing of mice undergoing recovery from caerulein-induced acute pancreatitis, we identify FRA1 as the most active transcription factor during KrasG12D mediated acute pancreatitis- mediated injury. We have elucidated a functional role of FRA1 by generating an acinar-specific Fosl1 knockout mouse expressing KrasG12D. Using a gene regulatory network and pseudotime trajectory inferred from single nuclei ATAC-seq and bulk-RNA seq, we hypothesize a regulatory model of the acinar-ADM-PanIN continuum and experimentally validate that Fosl1 knockout mice are delayed in the onset of ADM and PanIN. Furthermore, deletion of Fosl1 in an autochthonous PDAC mouse model revealed that this ADM-initiated delay eventually culminates in a significant survival advantage and a less aggressive tumor phenotype. Through investigation of upstream regulators of FRA1, we identified G-CSF as an ADM-promoting cytokine. Fosl1 depletion prevented the pro-inflammatory effects of G-CSF, indicating that the G-CSF/FRA1 signaling axis can modulate ADM. Using ex vivo acinar cultures, we also showed that G-CSF can induce FRA1 through MEK/ERK signaling. Our findings reveal that FRA1 is a mediator of acinar cell plasticity and contributes to acinar cell de-differentiation and malignant transformation. Although the majority of this thesis focuses on oncogenic ADM, we also include a chapter on the role of Prrx1 in adaptive ADM. Our comprehensive and unbiased approach identified previously the Paired-Related homebox1 (Prrx1) as the most upregulated transcription factor in the intersection of pancreatic ductal development, regeneration, and evolution of PanIN. We have demonstrated previously that Prrx1 can promote a ductal phenotype by binding the Sox9 promotor and inducing its expression during pancreatitis. In this body of work, we present a novel mechanism by which Prrx1 regulates maintenance of adaptive ADM. Using novel mouse models and ex vivo acinar culture systems, we demonstrate that Prrx1 can induce TGFβ signaling and reduce E-Cadherin expression to promote ADM. We do not know if there is any potential epistatic interaction between FRA1 and PRXX1. Overall, we reveal the rippling effects of FRA1 can have during the early stages of pre-neoplasia, and we unveil an alternative function of PRRX1 for stimulating an adaptive response to stress. This thesis presents a new understanding of how acinar cell de-differentiation occurs in the pancreas by revealing novel roles of two transcription factors, FRA1 and PRRX1, and furthers our understanding of tissue regeneration in an injured pancreas.

While single-cell RNA sequencing provides a remarkable window on pathophysiologic tissue biology and heterogeneity, its high gene-dropout rate and low signal-to-noise ratio challenge quantitative analyses and mechanistic understanding. This thesis addresses this issue by developing PISCES, a pipeline for regulatory network-based single-cell analysis of mammalian tissues. PISCES accurately estimates the mechanistic contribution of regulatory and signaling proteins to cell state implementation and maintenance based on the expression of their lineage-specific transcriptional targets, inferring protein activity for a putative set of transcriptional regulators and cell-state markers. Experimental validation assays – including technical analysis via downsampling of high depth data and biological analysis by assessing concordance with CITE-Seq-based measurements – show a significant improvement in the ability to identify rare subpopulations and to elucidate key lineage markers compared to gene expression analysis. The improved ability to identify biologically meaningful cellular subpopulations makes PISCES an ideal tool to deconvolute heterogeneity in a wide variety of biological contexts. A systematic analysis of single-cell gene expression profiles in the Human Protein Atlas (HPA) by PISCES generated tissue-specific clustering and master regulator analyses across 26 human tissues, as well as a publicly available repository of ready-to-use regulatory networks specific to cell-lineages in each tissue. This resource will allow researchers to access the algorithmic advantages of PISCES without requiring prohibitively expensive or technically challenging computational resources. Additionally, PISCES is able to unravel the heterogeneous stromal environment of Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma, a malignancy defined by a large and complicated stromal compartment. This analysis reveals several novel candidate subpopulations, including a fibroblast subtype that has never been observed in humans, a potential pro-metastatic population of endothelial cells, and a population of immune-suppressing stellate cells. PISCES is also able to deconvolute more continuous forms of heterogeneity, as demonstrated by an analysis of epithelial cells in the developing murine lung. Here, PISCES is able to computationally reconstruct a developmental trajectory between Sox9+ distal cells and Sox2+ proximal cells, which is then leveraged to identify several novel markers of the critical intermediate population. Subsequent analysis suggests that these transition zone cells may share programs similar to those seen in injury repair and identifies a candidate therapeutic target that can drive cells into or out of this transition state. Finally, protein activity measured by PISCES is used to refine faulty experimental labels through differential density analysis. This analysis lead to the development of a machine learning classifier that accurately predicted increased degrees of stemness in experimentally transduced populations. Additionally, the density analysis paradigm has been extended to unsupervised settings, allowing for the detection of stable cellular populations and transitory trajectories.

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