Person:

Sharma, Arun J.

Objective: Diabetes results from a deficiency of functional (\beta)-cells due to both an increase in (\beta)-cell death and an inhibition of (\beta)-cell replication. The molecular mechanisms responsible for these effects in susceptible individuals are mostly unknown. The objective of this study was to determine whether a gene critical for cell division and cell survival in cancer cells, survivin, might also be important for (\beta)-cells. Research Design and Methods: We generated mice harboring a conditional deletion of survivin in pancreatic endocrine cells using mice with a Pax-6-Cre transgene promoter construct driving tissue-specific expression of Cre-recombinase in these cells. We performed metabolic studies and immunohistochemical analyses to determine the effects of a mono- and biallelic deletion of survivin. Results: Selective deletion of survivin in pancreatic endocrine cells in the mouse had no discernible effects during embryogenesis but was associated with striking decreases in (\beta)-cell number after birth, leading to hyperglycemia and early-onset diabetes by 4 weeks of age. Serum insulin levels were significantly decreased in animals lacking endocrine cell survivin, with relative stability of other hormones. Exogenous expression of survivin in mature (\beta)-cells lacking endogenous survivin completely rescued the hyperglycemic phenotype and the decrease in (\beta)-cell mass, confirming the specificity of the survivin effect in these cells. Conclusions: Our findings implicate survivin in the maintenance of (\beta)-cell mass through both replication and antiapoptotic mechanisms. Given the widespread involvement of survivin in cancer, a novel role for survivin may well be exploited in (\beta)-cell regulation in diseased states, such as diabetes.

Background: Variants of uncoupling protein genes UCP1 and UCP2 have been associated with a range of traits. We wished to evaluate contributions of known UCP1 and UCP2 variants to metabolic traits in the Insulin Resistance and Atherosclerosis (IRAS) Family Study. Methods: We genotyped five promoter or coding single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in 239 African American (AA) participants and 583 Hispanic participants from San Antonio (SA) and San Luis Valley. Generalized estimating equations using a sandwich estimator of the variance and exchangeable correlation to account for familial correlation were computed for the test of genotypic association, and dominant, additive and recessive models. Tests were adjusted for age, gender and BMI (glucose homeostasis and lipid traits), or age and gender (obesity traits), and empirical P-values estimated using a gene dropping approach. Results: UCP1 A-3826G was associated with AIRg in AA (P = 0.006) and approached significance in Hispanic families (P = 0.054); and with HDL-C levels in SA families (P = 0.0004). Although UCP1 expression is reported to be restricted to adipose tissue, RT-PCR indicated that UCP1 is expressed in human pancreas and MIN-6 cells, and immunohistochemistry demonstrated co-localization of UCP1 protein with insulin in human islets. UCP2 A55V was associated with waist circumference (P = 0.045) in AA, and BMI in SA (P = 0.018); and UCP2 G-866A with waist-to-hip ratio in AA (P = 0.016). Conclusion: This study suggests a functional variant of UCP1 contributes to the variance of AIRg in an AA population; the plausibility of this unexpected association is supported by the novel finding that UCP1 is expressed in islets.