Biology subjects

Stanley, C. A.

Publications and source records attributed to Stanley, C. A..

2 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2021

Postnatal activation of hypoxia pathway disrupts β-cell functional maturation

Hypoxic insults in the perinatal period can lead to persistent hyperinsulinism and profound hypoglycemia in newborns. We studied the impact of the hypoxia-inducible factor 1A (HIF1A) pathway on postnatal {beta}-cell function. Rat pups were treated daily between postnatal day (P)7 to P10 with adaptaquin (AQ), an inhibitor of prolyl hydroxylases, which stabilizes HIF1A. AQ-treated pups were hypoglycemic and had higher plasma insulin concentrations. Their islets had a decreased glucose threshold for insulin secretion, indicative of a delay in {beta}-cell postnatal functional maturation. Histology analyses revealed that AQ-treated pups had increased pancreatic insulin-positive area but no changes in the number of islets or number of {beta}-cells per islet, suggesting larger average {beta}-cell size. AQ-treated rat pups had decreased expression of cell cycle genes and decreased numbers of proliferating {beta}-cells. In conclusion, pharmacologic activation of the HIF1A pathway in the early postnatal period leads to hyperinsulinism, due to the persistence of a low glucose threshold for insulin secretion, and to decreased early postnatal {beta}-cell proliferation, suggesting it can impact adult {beta}-cell mass and diabetes risk.

developmental biology↗

bioRxiv2021

Decreased KATP channel activity contributes to the low glucose threshold for insulinsecretion in the early postnatal period

Transitional hypoglycemia in normal newborns occurs in the first 3 days of life and has clinical features consistent with hyperinsulinism. We found a lower threshold for glucose-stimulated insulin secretion from freshly isolated embryonic day (E)22 rat islets, which persisted into the first postnatal days. The threshold reached the adult level by postnatal day (P)14. Culturing P14 islets also decreased the glucose threshold. Freshly isolated P1 rat islets had a lower threshold for insulin secretion in response to BCH (2-aminobicyclo-(2,2,1)-heptane-2-carboxylic acid), a non-metabolizable leucine analog, and diminished insulin release in response to tolbutamide, an inhibitor of {beta}-cell KATP channels. These findings suggested that decreased KATP channel function could be responsible for the lower glucose threshold for insulin secretion. Single-cell transcriptomic analysis did not reveal a lower expression of KATP subunit genes in E22 compared to P14 {beta}-cells. The investigation of electrophysiological characteristics of dispersed {beta}-cells showed that early neonatal and cultured cells had fewer functional KATP channels per unit membrane area. Our findings suggest that decreased surface density of KATP channels may contribute to the observed differences in glucose threshold for insulin release.

developmental biology↗