preparation-frozen-non-human-primate-fetal-islets-for-combined-single

Preparation of Frozen Non-Human Primate Fetal Islets for Combined Single Nuclei RNA-Sequencing and ATAC-Sequencing, and Bulk Metabolomics

One challenge in studies using tissue collected from multiple cohorts is avoiding batch effects when preparing for large-scale multi-omic experiments, ...

Vanderbilt University

Type 2 diabetes is characterized by hyperglycemia and inflammation. Prostaglandin E, which signals through four G protein-coupled receptors (EP1-4), is a mediator of inflammation and is upregulated in diabetes. We have shown previously that EP3 receptor blockade promotes β-cell proliferation and survival in isolated mouse and human islets ex vivo. Here, we analyzed whether systemic EP3 blockade could enhance β-cell mass and identity in the setting of type 2 diabetes using mice with a spontaneous mutation in the leptin receptor (Lepr).

Pharmacological blockade of the EP3 prostaglandin E receptor in the setting of type 2 diabetes enhances β-cell proliferation and identity and relieves oxidative damage.

According to the Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD) hypothesis, the intrauterine environment influences fetal programming and development, affecting offspring disease susceptibility in adulthood. In recent years, therapeutic use of the Type 2 diabetes drug metformin has expanded to the treatment of pre-diabetes, polycystic ovarian syndrome, and gestational diabetes. Because metformin both undergoes renal excretion and binds to receptors on the placenta, the fetus receives equivalent maternal dosing. Although no teratogenic nor short-term harmful fetal impact of metformin is known to occur, the effects of metformin exposure on longer-range offspring development have not yet been fully elucidated. This review encapsulates the (albeit limited) existing knowledge regarding the potential longer-term impact of intrauterine metformin exposure on the development of key organs including the liver, central nervous system, heart, gut, and endocrine pancreas in animal models and humans. We discuss molecular and cellular mechanisms that would be altered in response to treatment and describe the potential consequences of these developmental changes on postnatal health. Further studies regarding the influence of metformin exposure on fetal programming and adult metabolic health will provide necessary insight to its long-term risks, benefits, and limitations in order to guide decisions for use of metformin during pregnancy.

Developmental effects of  metformin exposure.

Maternal overnutrition is associated with increased susceptibility to type 2 diabetes in the offspring. Rodent models have shown that maternal overnutrition influences islet function in offspring. To determine whether maternal Western-style diet (WSD) alters prejuvenile islet function in a model that approximates that of human offspring, we utilized a well-characterized Japanese macaque model. We compared islet function from offspring exposed to WSD throughout pregnancy and lactation and weaned to WSD (WSD/WSD) compared with islets from offspring exposed only to postweaning WSD (CD/WSD) at 1 yr of age. WSD/WSD offspring islets showed increased basal insulin secretion and an exaggerated increase in glucose-stimulated insulin secretion, as assessed by dynamic ex vivo perifusion assays, relative to CD/WSD-exposed offspring. We probed potential mechanisms underlying insulin hypersecretion using transmission electron microscopy to evaluate β-cell ultrastructure, qRT-PCR to quantify candidate gene expression, and Seahorse assay to assess mitochondrial function. Insulin granule density, mitochondrial density, and mitochondrial DNA ratio were similar between groups. However, islets from WSD/WSD male and female offspring had increased expression of transcripts known to facilitate stimulus-secretion coupling and changes in the expression of cell stress genes. Seahorse assay revealed increased spare respiratory capacity in islets from WSD/WSD male offspring. Overall, these results show that maternal WSD feeding confers changes to genes governing insulin secretory coupling and results in insulin hypersecretion as early as the postweaning period. The results suggest a maternal diet leads to early adaptation and developmental programming in offspring islet genes that may underlie future β-cell dysfunction. Programed adaptations in islets in response to maternal WSD exposure may alter β-cell response to metabolic stress in offspring. We show that islets from maternal WSD-exposed offspring hypersecrete insulin, possibly due to increased components of stimulus-secretion coupling. These findings suggest that islet hyperfunction is programed by maternal diet, and changes can be detected as early as the postweaning period in nonhuman primate offspring.

Maternal Western-style diet in nonhuman primates leads to offspring islet adaptations including altered gene expression and insulin hypersecretion.

Using a non-human primate (NHP) model of maternal Western-style diet (mWSD) feeding during pregnancy and lactation, we previously reported altered offspring beta:alpha cell ratio  and insulin hyper-secretion  Mitochondria are known to maintain beta-cell function by producing ATP for insulin secretion. In response to nutrient stress, the mitochondrial network within beta cells undergoes morphological changes to maintain respiration and metabolic adaptability. Given that mitochondrial dynamics have also been associated with cellular fate transitions, we assessed whether mWSD exposure was associated with changes in markers of beta-cell maturity and/or mitochondrial morphology that might explain the offspring islet phenotype.

Article	Year
Pharmacological blockade of the EP3 prostaglandin E receptor in the setting of type 2 diabetes enhances β-cell proliferation and identity and relieves oxidative damage. Molecular metabolism\| PubMed ID: 34626853	2021
Developmental effects of metformin exposure. Trends in developmental biology\| PubMed ID: 36589485	2021
Maternal Western-style diet in nonhuman primates leads to offspring islet adaptations including altered gene expression and insulin hypersecretion. American journal of physiology. Endocrinology and metabolism\| PubMed ID: 37134140	2023
Analysis of beta-cell maturity and mitochondrial morphology in juvenile non-human primates exposed to maternal Western-style diet during development. Frontiers in endocrinology\| PubMed ID: 39114287	2024

Darian T. Carroll

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