Abstract
Wingless and iNT-1 (WNT) pathway members are critical for pancreatic development and exocrine tissue formation. Recently, much attention has focused on delineating the roles of β-catenin in pancreatic organogenesis. However, little is known about the involvement of β-catenin in the endocrine or exocrine function of the mature pancreas. We report for the first time the impact of β-catenin deletion in the pancreatic beta cells. We targeted the deletion of the β-catenin gene in pancreatic beta cells by crossing a floxed β-catenin mouse strain with a RIP-Cre mouse strain. Surprisingly, the majority of the mutant mice died shortly after birth and had deregulated glucose and insulin levels. The newborn mutant pancreases demonstrated increased insulin content, reflecting a defect in insulin release confirmed in vitro. Moreover, there was a reduction in total endocrine tissue at birth, while cellularity in islets was greater, suggesting that lack of β-catenin affects beta cell size. Some newborns survived β-catenin deletion and showed a milder phenotype during adulthood. The deletion of β-catenin in the maturing beta cells negatively impacts on islet morphology and function. This work reveals that lack of β-catenin in early life is related to severe deregulation of glucose homeostasis.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 1608-1617 |
Number of pages | 10 |
Journal | Diabetologia |
Volume | 52 |
Issue number | 8 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Aug 2009 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Beta cell
- Beta-catenin
- Insulin secretion
- Pancreas
- WNT
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Internal Medicine
- Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism