Cell-to-cell contact dependence and junctional protein content are correlated with in vivo maturation of pancreatic beta cells

Autor(es)

Santos-Silva, Junia Carolina ^[1] ; de Franca Carvalho, Carolina Prado ^[1] ; de Oliveira, Ricardo Beltrame ^[1] ; Boschero, Antonio Carlos ^[2] ; Collares-Buzato, Carla Beatriz ^[1]

Afiliação do(s) autor(es)

^[1] Univ Campinas UNICAMP, Dept Histol & Embryol, Inst Biol, BR-13083970 Campinas, SP - Brazil

^[2] Univ Campinas UNICAMP, Dept Anat Cell Biol & Physiol & Biophys, Inst Biol, BR-13083970 Campinas, SP - Brazil

• Tipo de documento: Artigo Científico
• Fonte: Canadian Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology; v. 90, n. 7, p. 837-850, JUL 2012.
• Citações Web of Science: 10

Resumo

In this study, we investigated the cellular distribution of junctional proteins and the dependence on cell-cell contacts of pancreatic beta cells during animal development. Fetus and newborn rat islets, which display a relatively poor insulin secretory response to glucose, present an immature morphology and cytoarchitecture when compared with young and adult islets that are responsive to glucose. At the perinatal stage, beta cells display a low junctional content of neural cell adhesion molecule (N-CAM), alpha-and beta-catenins, ZO-1, and F-actin, while a differential distribution of N-CAM and Pan-cadherin was seen in beta cells and nonbeta cells only from young and adult islets. In the absence of intercellular contacts, the glucose-stimulated insulin secretion was completely blocked in adult beta cells, but after reaggregation they partially re-established the secretory response to glucose. By contrast, neonatal beta cells were poorly responsive to sugar, regardless of whether they were arranged as intact islets or as isolated cells. Interestingly, after 10 days of culturing, neonatal beta cells, known to display increased junctional protein content in vitro, became responsive to glucose and concomitantly dependent on cell-cell contacts. Therefore, our data suggest that the developmental acquisition of an adult-like insulin secretory pattern is paralleled by a dependence on direct cell-cell interactions. (AU)

• Processo FAPESP: 10/50789-1 - Papel do contato célula-célula mediado pelas junções intercelulares no processo de maturação e disfunção das células beta do pâncreas
• Beneficiário: Carla Beatriz Collares Buzato
• Modalidade de apoio: Auxílio à Pesquisa - Regular