Regulated Cell Death Seen through the Lens of Islet Transplantation (original) (raw)

Interventional strategies to prevent β-cell apoptosis in islet transplantation

Diabetes, 2006

A substantial proportion of the transplanted islet mass fails to engraft due to death by apoptosis, and a number of strategies have been explored to inhibit ␤-cell loss. Inhibition of extrinsic signals of apoptosis (i.e., cFLIP or A20) have been explored in experimental islet transplantation but have only shown limited impact. Similarly, strategies targeted at intrinsic signal inhibition (i.e., BCL-2) have not yet provided substantial improvement in islet engraftment. Recently, investigation of downstream apoptosis inhibitors that block the final common pathway (i.e., X-linked inhibitor of apoptosis protein [XIAP]) have demonstrated promise in both human and rodent models of engraftment. In addition, XIAP has enhanced long-term murine islet allograft survival. The complexities of both intrinsic and extrinsic apoptotic pathway inhibition are discussed in depth.

Molecular mechanisms of death ligand-mediated immune modulation: A gene therapy model to prolong islet survival in type 1 diabetes

Journal of Cellular Biochemistry, 2008

Type 1 diabetes results from the T cell-mediated destruction of pancreatic beta cells. Islet transplantation has recently become a potential therapeutic approach for patients with type 1 diabetes. However, islet-graft failure appears to be a challenging issue to overcome. Thus, complementary gene therapy strategies are needed to improve the islet-graft survival following transplantation. Immune modulation through gene therapy represents a novel way of attacking cytotoxic T cells targeting pancreatic islets. Various death ligands of the TNF family such as FasL, TNF, and TNF-Related Apoptosis-Inducing Ligand (TRAIL) have been studied for this purpose. The over-expression of TNF or FasL in pancreatic islets exacerbates the onset of type 1 diabetes generating lymphocyte infiltrates responsible for the inflammation. Conversely, the lack of TRAIL expression results in higher degree of islet inflammation in the pancreas. In addition, blocking of TRAIL function using soluble TRAIL receptors facilitates the onset of diabetes. These results suggested that contrary to what was observed with TNF or FasL, adenovirus mediated TRAIL gene delivery into pancreatic islets is expected to be therapeutically beneficial in the setting of experimental models of type 1 diabetes. In conclusion; this study mainly reveals the fundamental principles of death ligand-mediated immune evasion in diabetes mellitus.

Cell Loss in Isolated Human Islets Occurs by Apoptosis

Pancreas, 2000

Purified islet allografts have largely failed to maintain long-term glucose homeostasis in human recipients, and the reasons for this are unclear. It is noteworthy, however, that islet isolation destroys or removes cellular and noncellular elements of the pancreas that could play an important role in supporting islet survival. The purpose of this study was to determine whether human islet isolation leads to the induction of programmed cell death.

Beta-Cell Apoptosis and Defense Mechanisms: Lessons from Type 1 Diabetes

Diabetes, 2001

Increased evidence suggests that apoptosis is the main mode of beta-cell death in early type 1 diabetes. Cytokines mediate beta-cell apoptosis, and in this article, we discuss some of the cytokine-modified genes that may contribute to beta-cell survival or death. The gene encoding for the inducible form of nitric oxide synthase is induced by interleukin (IL)-1beta or IL-1beta plus gamma-interferon in rodent and human islets, respectively. This leads to nitric oxide (NO) formation, which contributes to a major extent to beta-cell necrosis and to a minor extent to the process of beta-cell apoptosis. The main mode of cell death induced by cytokines in human beta-cells is apoptosis, whereas cytokines lead to both necrosis and apoptosis in rat and mouse beta-cells. It is suggested that the necrotic component in rodent islets is due to NO-induced mitochondrial impairment and consequent decreased ATP production. Human islets, possessing better antioxidant defenses, are able to preserve glu...

Sustained beta cell apoptosis in patients with long-standing type 1 diabetes: indirect evidence for islet regeneration?

Diabetologia, 2005

Aims/hypothesis: Type 1 diabetes is widely held to result from an irreversible loss of insulin-secreting beta cells. However, insulin secretion is detectable in some people with long-standing type 1 diabetes, indicating either a small population of surviving beta cells or continued renewal of beta cells subject to ongoing autoimmune destruction. The aim of the present study was to evaluate these possibilities. Materials and methods: Pancreatic sections from 42 individuals with type 1 diabetes and 14 non-diabetic individuals were evaluated for the presence of beta cells, beta cell apoptosis and replication, T lymphocytes and macrophages. The presence and extent of periductal fibrosis was also quantified. Results: Beta cells were identified in 88% of individuals with type 1 diabetes. The number of beta cells was unrelated to duration of disease (range 4-67 years) or age at death (range 14-77 years), but was higher (p<0.05) in individuals with lower mean blood glucose. Beta cell apoptosis was twice as frequent in type 1 diabetes as in control subjects (p<0.001), but beta cell replication was rare in both groups. The increased beta cell apoptosis in type 1 diabetes was accompanied by both increased macrophages and T lymphocytes and a marked increase in periductal fibrosis (p<0.001), implying chronic inflammation over many years, consistent with an ongoing supply of beta cells. Conclusions/interpretation: Most people with long-standing type 1 diabetes have beta cells that continue to be destroyed. The mechanisms underlying increased beta cell death may involve both ongoing autoimmunity and glucose toxicity. The presence of beta cells despite ongoing ap-optosis implies, by definition, that concomitant new beta cell formation must be occurring, even after long-standing type 1 diabetes. We conclude that type 1 diabetes may be reversed by targeted inhibition of beta cell destruction.

Mechanisms of Pancreatic -Cell Death in Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes: Many Differences, Few Similarities

Diabetes, 2005

Type 1 and type 2 diabetes are characterized by progressive ␤-cell failure. Apoptosis is probably the main form of ␤-cell death in both forms of the disease. It has been suggested that the mechanisms leading to nutrient-and cytokine-induced ␤-cell death in type 2 and type 1 diabetes, respectively, share the activation of a final common pathway involving interleukin (IL)-1␤, nuclear factor (NF)-B, and Fas. We review herein the similarities and differences between the mechanisms of ␤-cell death in type 1 and type 2 diabetes. In the insulitis lesion in type 1 diabetes, invading immune cells produce cytokines, such as IL-1␤, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-␣, and interferon (IFN)-␥.

Pancreatic Beta Cell Death: Novel Potential Mechanisms in Diabetes Therapy

Journal of diabetes research, 2018

Describing the diverse molecular mechanisms (particularly immunological) involved in the death of the pancreatic beta cell in type 1 and type 2 diabetes mellitus. Beta cell death is the final event in a series of mechanisms that, up to date, have not been entirely clarified; it represents the pathophysiological mechanism in the natural history of diabetes mellitus. These mechanisms are not limited to an apoptotic process only, which is characteristic of the immune-mediated insulitis in type 1 diabetes mellitus. They also include the action of proinflammatory cytokines, the production of reactive oxygen species, DNA fragmentation (typical of necroptosis in type 1 diabetic patients), excessive production of islet amyloid polypeptide with the consequent endoplasmic reticulum stress, disruption in autophagy mechanisms, and protein complex formation, such as the inflammasome, capable of increasing oxidative stress produced by mitochondrial damage. Necroptosis, autophagy, and pyroptosis a...

Apoptosis and beta-cell destruction in pancreatic islets of NOD mice with spontaneous and cyclophosphamide-accelerated diabetes

Diabetologia, 1998

Type I (insulin-dependent) diabetes mellitus in humans and non-obese diabetic (NOD) mice is the consequence of selective, autoimmune-mediated destruction of pancreatic islet beta cells [1±3]. A model has been proposed in which beta-cell function de-creases progressively in the presence of islet autoimmunity [1]. It is, however, still controversial whether beta-cell destruction in the NOD mouse occurs gradually over months following mononuclear cell infiltration of islets (insulitis) at 4±6 weeks of age or more rapidly in the days to weeks preceding diabetes onset . Beta cells could be destroyed by direct interaction with cytotoxic CD8 [8±11] or CD4 [12] T cells, or indirectly via soluble cytokines or free radicals released by inflammatory cells within the islet lesion [13±16]. Beta-cell death could occur by at least two mechanisms, necrosis or apoptosis, which are biochemically and morphologically distinct. Initiated by a variety of intercellular and intracellular signals, apoptosis or programmed cell death is executed Diabetologia (1998) 41: 1381±1388 Abbreviations: NOD, Non-obese diabetic; NB-PFA, neutral buffered paraformaldehyde; TUNEL (TdT-mediated dUTP nick end labelling); TdT, terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase; MT-PBS, mouse tonicity phosphate buffered saline.

IL-1β receptor blockade protects islets against pro-inflammatory cytokine induced necrosis and apoptosis

Journal of Cellular Physiology, 2009

Pro-inflammatory cytokines (PIC) impair islet viability and function by activating inflammatory pathways that induce both necrosis and apoptosis. The aim of this study was to utilize an in vitro rat islet model to evaluate the efficacy of a clinically approved IL-1 receptor antagonist (Anakinra) in blocking PIC induced islet impairment. Isolated rat islets were cultured for 48h ± PIC (IL-1β, IFNγ, and TNFα and ±IL-1ra then assayed for cellular integrity by flow cytometry, MAPK phosphorylation by proteome array, and gene expression by RT-PCR. Nitric oxide (NO) release into the culture media was measured by Griess reaction. Islet functional potency was tested by glucose stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS) and by transplantation into streptozotocin-induced diabetic NOD.scid mice. Rat islets cultured with PIC upregulated genes for NOS2a, COX2, IL6, IL1b, TNFa, and HMOX1. IL-1ra prevented the PIC induced upregulation of all of these genes except for TNFa. Inhibition of PIC induced iNOS by NG-monomethyl-L-arginine (NMMA) only blocked the increased expression of HMOX1. IL-1ra completely abrogated the effects of PIC with respect to NO production, necrosis, apoptosis, mitochondrial dysfunction, GSIS, and in vivo potency. IL-1ra was not effective at preventing the induction of necrosis or apoptosis by exogenous NO. These data demonstrate that Anakinra is an effective agent to inhibit the activation of IL-1β dependent inflammatory pathways in cultured rat islets and support the extension of its application to human islets in vitro and potentially as a post transplant therapy.

Mediators and mechanisms of pancreatic beta-cell death in type 1 diabetes

Arquivos Brasileiros de Endocrinologia & Metabologia, 2008

Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1D) is characterized by severe insulin deficiency resulting from chronic and progressive destruction of pancreatic beta-cells by the immune system. The triggering of autoimmunity against the beta-cells is probably caused by environmental agent(s) acting in the context of a predisposing genetic background. Once activated, the immune cells invade the islets and mediate their deleterious effects on beta-cells via mechanisms such as Fas/FasL, perforin/granzyme, reactive oxygen and nitrogen species and pro-inflammatory cytokines. Binding of cytokines to their receptors on the beta-cells activates MAP-kinases and the transcription factors STAT-1 and NFkappa-B, provoking functional impairment, endoplasmic reticulum stress and ultimately apoptosis. This review discusses the potential mediators and mechanisms leading to beta-cell destruction in T1D.