Glucolipotoxicity of the pancreatic beta cell

Glucolipotoxicity of the pancreatic β-cell: myth or reality?

The glucolipotoxicity hypothesis postulates that chronically elevated levels of glucose and fatty acids adversely affect pancreatic β-cell function and thereby contribute to the deterioration of insulin secretion in Type 2 diabetes. Whereas ample experimental evidence in in vitro systems supports the glucolipotoxicity hypothesis, the contribution of this phenomenon to β-cell dysfunction in huma...

Glucolipotoxicity in Pancreatic β-Cells

The recent epidemic of type 2 diabetes in Asia differs from that reported in other regions of the world in several key areas: it has evolved over a much shorter time, in an earlier stage of life, and in people with lower body mass indices. These phenotypic characteristics of patients strongly suggest that insulin secretory defects may perform a more important function in the development and pro...

JNK1 Protects against Glucolipotoxicity-Mediated Beta-Cell Apoptosis

Pancreatic β-cell dysfunction is central to type 2 diabetes pathogenesis. Prolonged elevated levels of circulating free-fatty acids and hyperglycemia, also termed glucolipotoxicity, mediate β-cell dysfunction and apoptosis associated with increased c-Jun N-terminal Kinase (JNK) activity. Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and oxidative stress are elicited by palmitate and high glucose concentrations fu...

Imaging the Pancreatic Beta Cell

Heterogeneity of the Pancreatic Beta Cell

The pancreatic beta cell functions as a key regulator of blood glucose levels by integrating a variety of signals in response to changing metabolic demands. Variations in beta cell identity that translate into functionally different subpopulations represent an interesting mechanism to allow beta cells to efficiently respond to diverse physiological and pathophysiological conditions. Recently, t...