The role of autophagy in maintaining pancreatic beta-cell function / 第二军医大学学报

ABSTRACT

Disrupted pancreatic β-cell function and decreased β-cell number are two of the main causes of type 2 diabetes mellitus. Recent studies have indicated that autophagy plays an important role in protecting pancreatic β-cell and in maintaining the structure, number, and secretive function of pancreatic β-cell. Although autophagy has been a focus of study in recent years, including areas such as tumor, neural diseases and aging, but its relationship with pancreatic β-cell was not included. In this paper we review the concept of autophagy and its role in maintaining the normal function of pancreatic β-cells.