The role of Insulin on pancreatic delta cell development

• Grant number: 19/04281-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Post-doctor
• Start date: May 01, 2019
• End date: April 30, 2020
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Physiology - Physiology of Organs and Systems
• Principal Investigator: Antonio Carlos Boschiero
• Grantee: Sandra Mara Ferreira
• Supervisor: Raphael Igor Marc Scharfmann
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biologia (IB). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Institut Cochin, France
• Associated to the scholarship: 15/10705-7 - The role of insulin and hyperglycemia in the delta cell transdifferentiation to beta cell in streptozotocin diabetic mice, BP.PD

Abstract

The pancreatic delta cell is the third more abundant cell in pancreatic islet, and inhibits, in a paracrine-fashion, through somatostatin, both insulin and glucagon secretion and, consequently, modulate glucose homeostasis. Recently, it was shown that somatostatin secretion is stimulated by UCN3, which is secreted together with insulin by beta cell. In a preliminary study, we observed that insulin modulates pancreatic delta cell phenotype. The treatment of islet from adult mice with insulin increased Hhex and somatostatin expressions, proteins that are important marker for delta cell phenotype. In addition, the inhibition of insulin receptor (IR) and AKT, proteins present in the insulin signaling pathway, decreased Hhex and somatostatin expressions. However, it is not established if insulin also modulates these proteins and consequently delta cell differentiation during its development. Therefore, our aim is evaluate the role of insulin at multiple stage of delta cell development.