Mig6 haploinsufficiency protects mice against streptozotocin-induced diabetes.

AIMS/HYPOTHESIS: EGF and gastrin co-administration reverses type 1 diabetes in rodent models. However, the failure of this to translate into a clinical treatment suggests that EGF-mediated tissue repair is a complicated process and warrants further investigation. Thus, we aimed to determine whether EGF receptor (EGFR) feedback inhibition by mitogen-inducible gene 6 protein (MIG6) limits the effectiveness of EGF therapy and promotes type 1 diabetes development. METHODS: We treated Mig6 (also known as Errfi1) haploinsufficient mice (Mig6 (+/-)) and their wild-type littermates (Mig6 (+/+)) with multiple low doses of streptozotocin (STZ), and monitored diabetes development via glucose homeostasis tests and histological analyses. We also investigated MIG6-mediated cytokine-induced desensitisation of EGFR signalling and the DNA damage repair response in 832/13 INS-1 beta cells. RESULTS: Whereas STZ-treated Mig6 (+/+) mice became diabetic, STZ-treated Mig6 (+/-) mice remained glucose tolerant. In addition, STZ-treated Mig6 (+/-) mice exhibited preserved circulating insulin levels following a glucose challenge. As insulin sensitivity was similar between Mig6 (+/-) and Mig6 (+/+) mice, the preserved glucose tolerance in STZ-treated Mig6 (+/-) mice probably results from preserved beta cell function. This is supported by elevated Pdx1 and Irs2 mRNA levels in islets isolated from STZ-treated Mig6 (+/-) mice. Conversely, MIG6 overexpression in isolated islets compromises glucose-stimulated insulin secretion. Studies in 832/13 cells suggested that cytokine-induced MIG6 hinders EGFR activation and inhibits DNA damage repair. STZ-treated Mig6 (+/-) mice also have increased beta cell mass recovery. CONCLUSIONS/INTERPRETATION: Reducing Mig6 expression promotes beta cell repair and abates the development of experimental diabetes, suggesting that MIG6 may be a novel therapeutic target for preserving beta cells.

Upregulation of p21 activates the intrinsic apoptotic pathway in ß-cells.

Diabetes manifests from a loss in functional ß-cell mass, which is regulated by a dynamic balance of various cellular processes, including ß-cell growth, proliferation, and death as well as secretory function. The cell cycle machinery comprised of cyclins, kinases, and inhibitors regulates proliferation. However, their involvement during ß-cell stress during the development of diabetes is not well understood. Interestingly, in a screen of multiple cell cycle inhibitors, p21 was dramatically upregulated in INS-1-derived 832/13 cells and rodent islets by two pharmacological inducers of ß-cell stress, dexamethasone and thapsigargin. We hypothesized that ß-cell stress upregulates p21 to activate the apoptotic pathway and suppress cell survival signaling. To this end, p21 was adenovirally overexpressed in pancreatic rat islets and 832/13 cells. As expected, p21 overexpression resulted in decreased [(3)H]thymidine incorporation. Flow cytometry analysis in p21-transduced 832/13 cells verified lower replication, as indicated by a decreased cell population in the S phase and a block in G2/M transition. The sub-G0 cell population was higher with p21 overexpression and was attributable to apoptosis, as demonstrated by increased annexin-positive stained cells and cleaved caspase-3 protein. p21-mediated caspase-3 cleavage was inhibited by either overexpression of the antiapoptotic mitochondrial protein Bcl-2 or siRNA-mediated suppression of the proapoptotic proteins Bax and Bak. Therefore, an intact intrinsic apoptotic pathway is central for p21-mediated cell death. In summary, our findings indicate that ß-cell apoptosis can be triggered by p21 during stress and is thus a potential target to inhibit for protection of functional ß-cell mass.

Glucocorticoid-induced suppression of ß-cell proliferation is mediated by Mig6.

Glucocorticoids can cause steroid-induced diabetes or accelerate the progression to diabetes by creating systemic insulin resistance and decreasing functional ß-cell mass, which is influenced by changes in ß-cell function, growth, and death. The synthetic glucocorticoid agonist dexamethasone (Dex) is deleterious to functional ß-cell mass by decreasing ß-cell function, survival, and proliferation. However, the mechanism by which Dex decreases ß-cell proliferation is unknown. Interestingly, Dex induces the transcription of an antiproliferative factor and negative regulator of epidermal growth factor receptor signaling, Mig6 (also known as gene 33, RALT, and Errfi1). We, therefore, hypothesized that Dex impairs ß-cell proliferation by increasing the expression of Mig6 and thereby decreasing downstream signaling of epidermal growth factor receptor. We found that Dex induced Mig6 and decreased [(3)H]thymidine incorporation, an index of cellular replication, in mouse, rat, and human islets. Using adenovirally delivered small interfering RNA targeted to Mig6 in rat islets, we were able to limit the induction of Mig6 upon exposure to Dex, compared with islets treated with a control virus, and completely rescued the Dex-mediated impairment in replication. We demonstrated that both Dex and overexpression of Mig6 attenuated the phosphorylation of ERK1/2 and blocked the G(1)/S transition of the cell cycle. In conclusion, Mig6 functions as a molecular brake for ß-cell proliferation during glucocorticoid treatment in ß-cells, and thus, Mig6 may be a novel target for preventing glucocorticoid-induced impairments in functional ß-cell mass.

Mitogen-inducible gene 6 triggers apoptosis and exacerbates ER stress-induced ß-cell death.

The increased insulin secretory burden placed on pancreatic ß-cells during obesity and insulin resistance can ultimately lead to ß-cell dysfunction and death and the development of type 2 diabetes. Mitogen-inducible gene 6 (Mig6) is a cellular stress-responsive protein that can negatively regulate the duration and intensity of epidermal growth factor receptor signaling and has been classically viewed as a molecular brake for proliferation. In this study, we used Mig6 heterozygous knockout mice (Mig6(+/-)) to study the role of Mig6 in regulating ß-cell proliferation and survival. Surprisingly, the proliferation rate of Mig6(+/-) pancreatic islets was lower than wild-type islets despite having comparable ß-cell mass and glucose tolerance. We thus speculated that Mig6 regulates cellular death. Using adenoviral vectors to overexpress or knockdown Mig6, we found that caspase 3 activation during apoptosis was dependent on the level of Mig6. Interestingly, Mig6 expression was induced during endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, and its protein levels were maintained throughout ER stress. Using polyribosomal profiling, we identified that Mig6 protein translation was maintained, whereas the global protein translation was inhibited during ER stress. In addition, Mig6 overexpression exacerbated ER stress-induced caspase 3 activation in vitro. In conclusion, Mig6 is transcriptionally up-regulated and resistant to global translational inhibition during stressed conditions in ß-cells and mediates apoptosis in the form of caspase 3 activation. The sustained production of Mig6 protein exacerbates ER stress-induced ß-cell death. Thus, preventing the induction, translation, and/or function of Mig6 is warranted for increasing ß-cell survival.

Assessing replication and beta cell function in adenovirally-transduced isolated rodent islets.

Glucose homeostasis is primarily controlled by the endocrine hormones insulin and glucagon, secreted from the pancreatic beta and alpha cells, respectively. Functional beta cell mass is determined by the anatomical beta cell mass as well as the ability of the beta cells to respond to a nutrient load. A loss of functional beta cell mass is central to both major forms of diabetes (1-3). Whereas the declining functional beta cell mass results from an autoimmune attack in type 1 diabetes, in type 2 diabetes, this decrement develops from both an inability of beta cells to secrete insulin appropriately and the destruction of beta cells from a cadre of mechanisms. Thus, efforts to restore functional beta cell mass are paramount to the better treatment of and potential cures for diabetes. Efforts are underway to identify molecular pathways that can be exploited to stimulate the replication and enhance the function of beta cells. Ideally, therapeutic targets would improve both beta cell growth and function. Perhaps more important though is to identify whether a strategy that stimulates beta cell growth comes at the cost of impairing beta cell function (such as with some oncogenes) and vice versa. By systematically suppressing or overexpressing the expression of target genes in isolated rat islets, one can identify potential therapeutic targets for increasing functional beta cell mass (4-6). Adenoviral vectors can be employed to efficiently overexpress or knockdown proteins in isolated rat islets (4,7-15). Here, we present a method to manipulate gene expression utilizing adenoviral transduction and assess islet replication and beta cell function in isolated rat islets (Figure 1). This method has been used previously to identify novel targets that modulate beta cell replication or function (5,6,8,9,16,17).

Inhibition of the redox function of APE1/Ref-1 in myeloid leukemia cell lines results in a hypersensitive response to retinoic acid-induced differentiation and apoptosis.

OBJECTIVE: The standard of care for promyelocytic leukemia includes use of the differentiating agent all-trans retinoic acid (RA) and chemotherapy. RA induces cell differentiation through retinoic acid receptor (RAR) transcription factors. Because redox mechanisms influence how readily transcription factors bind to DNA response elements (RARE), the impact of small molecule (E3330) inhibition of the redox regulatory protein, apurinic-apyrimidinic endonuclease/redox effector factor (APE1/Ref-1) on RAR DNA binding and function in RA-induced myeloid leukemia cell differentiation and apoptosis was investigated. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The redox function of APE1 was studied using the small molecule inhibitor E3330 in HL-60 and PLB acute myeloid leukemia cells. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays were employed to determine effect of inhibitor on APE1/Ref-1 redox signaling function. Trypan blue assays, Annexin-V/propidium iodide and CD11b staining, and real-time polymerase chain reaction analyses were employed to determine survival, apoptosis, and differentiation status of cells in culture. RESULTS: RARα binds to its RARE in a redox-dependent manner mediated by APE1/Ref-1 redox regulation. Redox-dependent RAR-RARE binding is blocked by E3330, a small molecule redox inhibitor of APE1/Ref-1. Combination treatment of RA + E3330 results in a profound hypersensitivity of myeloid leukemia cells to RA-induced differentiation and apoptosis. Additionally, redox inhibition by E3330 results in enhanced RAR target gene, BLR-1, expression in myeloid leukemia cells. CONCLUSIONS: The redox function of APE1/Ref-1 regulates RAR binding to its DNA RAREs influencing the response of myeloid leukemia cells to RA-induced differentiation. Targeting of APE1/Ref-1 redox function may allow manipulation of the retinoid response with therapeutic implications.