Isabelle Leclerc

Imperial College London, London, ENG, United Kingdom

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Publications (25)131.11 Total impact

  • Article: Roles of Ca2+ ions in the control of ChREBP nuclear translocation.
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    ABSTRACT: Carbohydrate-responsive element binding protein (ChREBP (MLXIPL)) is emerging as an important mediator of glucotoxity both in the liver and in the pancreatic β-cells. Although the regulation of its nuclear translocation and transcriptional activation by glucose has been the subject of intensive research, it is still not fully understood. We have recently uncovered a novel mechanism in the excitable pancreatic β-cell where ChREBP interacts with sorcin, a penta-EF-hand Ca(2)(+)-binding protein, and is sequestered in the cytosol at low glucose concentrations. Upon stimulation with glucose and activation of Ca(2)(+) influx, or application of ATP as an intracellular Ca(2)(+)-mobilising agent, ChREBP rapidly translocates to the nucleus. In sorcin-silenced cells, ChREBP is constitutively present in the nucleus, and both glucose and Ca(2)(+) are ineffective in stimulating further ChREBP nuclear shuttling. Whether an active Ca(2)(+)-sorcin element of ChREBP activation also exists in non-excitable cells is discussed.
    Journal of Endocrinology 03/2012; 213(2):115-22. · 3.55 Impact Factor
  • Article: Glucose-induced nuclear shuttling of ChREBP is mediated by sorcin and Ca(2+) ions in pancreatic β-cells.
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    ABSTRACT: Carbohydrate-responsive element-binding protein (ChREBP) is a regulator of pancreatic β-cell gene expression and an important mediator of glucotoxicity. Glucose increases the activity and nuclear localization of ChREBP by still ill-defined mechanisms. Here we reveal, using both MIN6 and primary mouse β-cells, a unique mechanism behind ChREBP nuclear translocation. At low glucose concentrations, ChREBP interacts with sorcin, a penta EF hand Ca(2+) binding protein, and is sequestered in the cytosol. Sorcin overexpression inhibits ChREBP nuclear accumulation at high glucose and reduced the activity of L-type pyruvate kinase (L-PK) and TxNIP promoters, two well-characterized ChREBP target genes. Sorcin inactivation by RNA interference increases ChREBP nuclear localization and in vivo binding to the L-PK promoter at low glucose concentrations. Ca(2+) influx was essential for this process since Ca(2+) chelation with EGTA, or pharmacological inhibition with diazoxide and nifedipine, blocked the effects of glucose. Conversely, mobilization of intracellular Ca(2+) with ATP caused the nuclear accumulation of ChREBP. Finally, sorcin silencing inhibited ATP-induced increases in intracellular Ca(2+) and glucose-stimulated insulin secretion. We therefore conclude that sorcin retains ChREBP in the cytosol at low glucose concentrations and may act as a Ca(2+) sensor for glucose-induced nuclear translocation and the activation of ChREBP-dependent genes.
    Diabetes 03/2012; 61(3):574-85. · 8.29 Impact Factor
  • Article: RIP2-mediated LKB1 deletion causes axon degeneration in the spinal cord and hind-limb paralysis.
    Gao Sun, Richard Reynolds, Isabelle Leclerc, Guy A Rutter
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    ABSTRACT: Axon degeneration is observed in neurodegenerative diseases and neuroinflammatory disorders, such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and multiple sclerosis. The molecular basis of this process remains largely unknown. Here, we show that mice deleted for the tumour suppressor LKB1 (also called STK11) in the spinal cord, some parts of the brain and in the endocrine pancreas (βLKB1KO mice) develop hind-limb dysfunction and axon degeneration at about 7 weeks. Demyelination and macrophage infiltration are observed in the white matter of these mice, predominantly in the bilateral and anterior funiculi of the thoracic segment of the spinal cord, suggesting damage to the ascending sensory signalling pathway owing to LKB1 deletion in the brain. Microtubule structures were also affected in the degenerated foci, with diminished neurofilament and tubulin expression. Deletion of both PRKAA1 genes, whose products AMPKα1 and AMPKα2 are also downstream targets of LKB1, with the same strategy was without effect. We thus define LKB1 as an intrinsic suppressor of axon degeneration and a possible target for strategies that can reverse this process.
    Disease Models and Mechanisms 12/2010; 4(2):193-202. · 4.94 Impact Factor
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    Article: ChREBP regulates Pdx-1 and other glucose-sensitive genes in pancreatic β-cells.
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    ABSTRACT: Carbohydrate responsive element-binding protein (ChREBP) is a transcription factor whose expression and activity are increased in pancreatic β-cells maintained at elevated glucose concentrations. We show here that ChREBP inactivation in clonal pancreatic MIN6 β-cells results in an increase in Pdx-1 expression at low glucose and to a small, but significant, increase in Ins2, GcK and MafA gene expression at high glucose concentrations. Conversely, adenovirus-mediated over-expression of ChREBP in mouse pancreatic islets results in decreases in Pdx-1, MafA, Ins1, Ins2 and GcK mRNA levels. These data suggest that strategies to reduce ChREBP activity might protect against β-cell dysfunction in type 2 diabetes.
    Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications 10/2010; 402(2):252-7. · 2.48 Impact Factor
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    Article: Hypothalamic AMP-activated protein kinase regulates glucose production.
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    ABSTRACT: The fuel sensor AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) in the hypothalamus regulates energy homeostasis by sensing nutritional and hormonal signals. However, the role of hypothalamic AMPK in glucose production regulation remains to be elucidated. We hypothesize that bidirectional changes in hypothalamic AMPK activity alter glucose production. To introduce bidirectional changes in hypothalamic AMPK activity in vivo, we first knocked down hypothalamic AMPK activity in male Sprague-Dawley rats by either injecting an adenovirus expressing the dominant-negative form of AMPK (Ad-DN AMPKα2 [D(157)A]) or infusing AMPK inhibitor compound C directly into the mediobasal hypothalamus. Next, we independently activated hypothalamic AMPK by delivering either an adenovirus expressing the constitutive active form of AMPK (Ad-CA AMPKα1(312) [T172D]) or the AMPK activator AICAR. The pancreatic (basal insulin)-euglycemic clamp technique in combination with the tracer-dilution methodology was used to assess the impact of alternations in hypothalamic AMPK activity on changes in glucose kinetics in vivo. Injection of Ad-DN AMPK into the hypothalamus knocked down hypothalamic AMPK activity and led to a significant suppression of glucose production with no changes in peripheral glucose uptake during the clamps. In parallel, hypothalamic infusion of AMPK inhibitor compound C lowered glucose production as well. Conversely, molecular and pharmacological activation of hypothalamic AMPK negated the ability of hypothalamic nutrients to lower glucose production. These data indicate that changes in hypothalamic AMPK activity are sufficient and necessary for hypothalamic nutrient-sensing mechanisms to alter glucose production in vivo.
    Diabetes 10/2010; 59(10):2435-43. · 8.29 Impact Factor
  • Article: LKB1 deletion with the RIP2.Cre transgene modifies pancreatic beta-cell morphology and enhances insulin secretion in vivo.
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    ABSTRACT: The tumor suppressor liver kinase B1 (LKB1), also called STK11, is a protein kinase mutated in Peutz-Jeghers syndrome. LKB1 phosphorylates AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and several related protein kinases. Whereas deletion of both catalytic isoforms of AMPK from the pancreatic beta-cell and hypothalamic neurons using the rat insulin promoter (RIP2).Cre transgene (betaAMPKdKO) diminishes insulin secretion in vivo, deletion of LKB1 in the beta-cell with an inducible Pdx-1.CreER transgene enhances insulin secretion in mice. To determine whether the differences between these models reflect genuinely distinct roles for the two kinases in the beta-cell or simply differences in the timing and site(s) of deletion, we have therefore created mice deleted for LKB1 with the RIP2.Cre transgene. In marked contrast to betaAMPKdKO mice, betaLKB1KO mice showed diminished food intake and weight gain, enhanced insulin secretion, unchanged insulin sensitivity, and improved glucose tolerance. In line with the phenotype of Pdx1-CreER mice, total beta-cell mass and the size of individual islets and beta-cells were increased and islet architecture was markedly altered in betaLKB1KO islets. Signaling by mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) to eIF4-binding protein-1 and ribosomal S6 kinase was also enhanced. In contrast to Pdx1-CreER-mediated deletion, the expression of Glut2, glucose-induced changes in membrane potential and intracellular Ca(2+) were sharply reduced in betaLKB1KO mouse islets and the stimulation of insulin secretion was modestly inhibited. We conclude that LKB1 and AMPK play distinct roles in the control of insulin secretion and that the timing of LKB1 deletion, and/or its loss from extrapancreatic sites, influences the final impact on beta-cell function.
    AJP Endocrinology and Metabolism 03/2010; 298(6):E1261-73. · 4.75 Impact Factor
  • Article: Cell-wide analysis of secretory granule dynamics in three dimensions in living pancreatic beta-cells: evidence against a role for AMPK-dependent phosphorylation of KLC1 at Ser517/Ser520 in glucose-stimulated insulin granule movement.
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    ABSTRACT: Glucose-stimulated insulin secretion from pancreatic beta-cells requires the kinesin-1/Kif5B-mediated transport of insulin granules along microtubules. 5'-AMPK (5'-AMP-activated protein kinase) is a heterotrimeric serine/threonine kinase which is activated in beta-cells at low glucose concentrations, but inhibited as glucose levels increase. Active AMPK blocks glucose-stimulated insulin secretion and the recruitment of insulin granules to the cell surface, suggesting motor proteins may be targets for this kinase. While both kinesin-1/Kif5B and KLC1 (kinesin light chain-1) contain consensus AMPK phosphorylation sites (Thr(693) and Ser(520), respectively) only recombinant GST (glutathione transferase)-KLC1 was phosphorylated by purified AMPK in vitro. To test the hypothesis that phosphorylation at this site may modulate kinesin-1-mediated granule movement, we developed an approach to study the dynamics of all the resolvable granules within a cell in three dimensions. This cell-wide approach revealed that the number of longer excursions (>10 mum) increased significantly in response to elevated glucose concentration (30 versus 3 mM) in control MIN6 beta-cells. However, similar changes were seen in cells overexpressing wild-type KLC1, phosphomimetic (S517D/S520D) or non-phosphorylatable (S517A/S520A) mutants of KLC1. Thus, changes in the phosphorylation state of KLC1 at Ser(517)/Ser(520) seem unlikely to affect motor function.
    Biochemical Society Transactions 02/2010; 38(Pt 1):205-8. · 3.71 Impact Factor
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    Article: Carbohydrate-responsive element-binding protein (ChREBP) is a negative regulator of ARNT/HIF-1beta gene expression in pancreatic islet beta-cells.
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    ABSTRACT: Carbohydrate-responsive element-binding protein (ChREBP) is a transcription factor that has been shown to regulate carbohydrate metabolism in the liver and pancreatic beta-cells in response to elevated glucose concentrations. Because few genes have been identified so far as bona fide ChREBP-target genes, we have performed a genome-wide analysis of the ChREBP transcriptome in pancreatic beta-cells. Chromatin immunoprecipitation and high-density oligonucleotide tiling arrays (ChIP-chip; Agilent Technologies) using MIN6 pancreatic beta-cell extracts were performed together with transcriptional and other analysis using standard techniques. One of the genes identified by ChIP-chip and linked to glucose sensing and insulin secretion was aryl hydrocarbon receptor nuclear translocator (ARNT)/hypoxia-inducible factor-1beta (HIF-1beta), a transcription factor implicated in altered gene expression and pancreatic-islet dysfunction in type 2 diabetes. We first confirmed that elevated glucose concentrations decreased ARNT/HIF-1beta levels in INS-1 (832/13) cells and primary mouse islets. Demonstrating a role for ChREBP in ARNT gene regulation, ChREBP silencing increased ARNT mRNA levels in INS-1 (832/13) cells, and ChREBP overexpression decreased ARNT mRNA in INS-1 (832/13) cells and primary mouse islets. We demonstrated that ChREBP and Max-like protein X (MLX) bind on the ARNT/HIF-1beta promoter on the proximal region that also confers the negative glucose responsiveness. These results demonstrate that ChREBP acts as a novel repressor of the ARNT/HIF-1beta gene and might contribute to beta-cell dysfunction induced by glucotoxicity.
    Diabetes 10/2009; 59(1):153-60. · 8.29 Impact Factor
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    Article: The AMP-regulated kinase family: enigmatic targets for diabetes therapy.
    Guy A Rutter, Isabelle Leclerc
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    ABSTRACT: AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) is a widely conserved Ser/Thr-specific protein kinase, homologous to Saccharomyces cerevisiae Snf1, and involved in nutrient sensing in lower organisms. In 2003, we reviewed the role of this enzyme in glucose homeostasis in mammals [Rutter, G.A., daSilvaXavier, G., Leclerc, I., 2003. Roles of 5'-AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) in mammalian glucose homoeostasis. Biochem. J. 375 (Pt 1), 1-16]. In the subsequent 5 years, dramatic strides have taken place in our understanding of the role of AMPK in the control of whole body metabolic homeostasis, the regulation of the enzyme by upstream kinases, and its molecular structure. These new studies and earlier work arguably propel AMPK, and perhaps related family members into a "super league" of potential therapeutic targets for maladies including diabetes, cancer, heart disease, and obesity. Here, we survey some of these recent advances, focussing on the role of this and related enzymes in the control of pancreatic beta-cell function and glucose homeostasis.
    Molecular and Cellular Endocrinology 07/2008; 297(1-2):41-9. · 4.19 Impact Factor
  • Article: The relationship between p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase and AMP-activated protein kinase during myocardial ischemia.
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    ABSTRACT: p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (p38 MAPK) and AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) are activated by, and influence sensitivity to, myocardial ischemia. Recently a number of studies have suggested that AMPK may participate in the activation of p38 MAPK. We therefore examined whether AMPK may be the principal "ischemia sensor" responsible for p38 MAPK activation during myocardial ischemia. We used a variety of approaches to alter AMPK activity during ischemia and studied the repercussions on p38 MAPK activation. The activities of AMPK and p38 MAPK were temporally related in adult rat ventricular myocytes (ARVM) subjected to simulated ischemia and in isolated mouse hearts subjected to no-flow ischemia. However p38 MAPK activation was unaltered in mouse hearts lacking the predominant or minor myocardial isoforms, AMPKalpha2 or AMPKalpha1 respectively. Likewise, in ARVM, adenoviral-driven expression of the minor myocardial isoform AMPKalpha1, in a constitutively active or dominant negative form reducing AMPK activity, did not alter p38 MAPK activation under basal conditions or during simulated ischemia. Finally, pharmacological inhibition of AMPK during ischemia with compound C did not attenuate the coincident activation of p38 MAPK. Although AMPK and p38 MAPK are both activated during myocardial ischemia, the activation of p38 MAPK occurs independently of AMPK.
    Cardiovascular research 01/2008; 76(3):465-72. · 5.80 Impact Factor
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    Article: Stimulation of AMP-activated protein kinase is essential for the induction of drug metabolizing enzymes by phenobarbital in human and mouse liver.
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    ABSTRACT: Our previous studies have suggested a role for AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) in the induction of CYP2B6 by phenobarbital (PB) in hepatoma-derived cells (Rencurel et al., 2005). In this study, we showed in primary human hepatocytes that: 1) 5'-phosphoribosyl-5-aminoimidazol-4-carboxamide 1-beta-d-ribofuranoside and the biguanide metformin, known activators of AMPK, dose-dependently increase the expression of CYP2B6 and CYP3A4 to an extent similar to that of PB. 2) PB, but not the human nuclear receptor constitutive active/androstane receptor (CAR) ligand 6-(4-chlorophenyl)imidazol[2,1-6][1,3]thiazole-5-carbaldehyde, dose-dependently increase AMPK activity. 3) Pharmacological inhibition of AMPK activity with compound C or dominant-negative forms of AMPK blunt the inductive response to phenobarbital. Furthermore, in transgenic mice with a liver-specific deletion of both the alpha1 and alpha2 AMPK catalytic subunits, basal levels of Cyp2b10 and Cyp3a11 mRNA were increased but not in primary culture of mouse hepatocytes. However, phenobarbital or 1,4 bis[2-(3,5-dichloropyridyloxy)]benzene, a mouse CAR ligand, failed to induce the expression of these genes in the liver or cultured hepatocytes from mice lacking hepatic expression of the alpha1 and alpha2 subunits of AMPK. The distribution of CAR between the nucleus and cytosol was not altered in hepatocytes from mice lacking both AMPK catalytic subunits. These data highlight the essential role of AMPK in the CAR-mediated signal transduction pathway.
    Molecular Pharmacology 01/2007; 70(6):1925-34. · 4.88 Impact Factor
  • Article: ChREBP binding to fatty acid synthase and L-type pyruvate kinase genes is stimulated by glucose in pancreatic beta-cells.
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    ABSTRACT: Pancreatic beta-cell dysfunction is central to the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes and may involve secretory failure through glucolipotoxity. The relative importance of the transcription factors carbohydrate-responsive element binding protein (ChREBP), sterol-responsive element binding protein-1c (SREBP-1c), and upstream stimulatory factor (USF) in the induction of lipogenic genes by glucose remains unclear. By confocal imaging, we show that ChREBP translocates to the nucleus in MIN6 beta cells in response to glucose. Both ChREBP and SREBP-1c were required for the induction of the fatty acid synthase (FAS) promoter by glucose, and chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) assay revealed that glucose induced the binding of both ChREBP and SREBP-1c to the FAS promoter without affecting USF2 binding. By contrast, ChIP assay revealed that high glucose prompted direct binding of ChREBP, but not SREBP-1c or USF2, to the liver-type pyruvate kinase (L-PK) promoter. This event was indispensable for the induction of the L-PK gene by glucose, as demonstrated by RNA silencing, single-cell promoter analysis, and quantitative real-time PCR. We conclude that ChREBP is a critical regulator of lipogenic genes in the beta cell and may play a role in the development of glucolipotoxicity and beta cell failure through alteration of gene expression in type 2 diabetes.
    The Journal of Lipid Research 12/2006; 47(11):2482-91. · 5.56 Impact Factor
  • Article: Impact of adenoviral transduction with SREBP1c or AMPK on pancreatic islet gene expression profile: analysis with oligonucleotide microarrays.
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    ABSTRACT: Accumulation of triglyceride in islets may contribute to the loss of glucose-stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS) in some forms of type 2 diabetes (Diraison et al., Biochem J 373:769-778, 2004). Here, we use adenoviral vectors and oligonucleotide microarrays to determine the effects of the forced expression of SREBP1c on the gene expression profile of rat islets. Sterol regulatory element binding protein-1c (SREBP1c) overexpression led to highly significant (P <0.1 with respect to null adenovirus) changes in the expression of 1,238 genes or expressed sequence tags, of which 1,180 (95.3%) were upregulated. By contrast, overexpression of constitutively active AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), expected to promote lipolysis, altered the expression of 752 genes, of which 702 (93%) were upregulated. To identify specific targets for SREBP1c or AMPK, we eliminated messages that were 1) affected in the same direction by the expression of either protein, 2) changed by less than twofold, or 3) failed a positive false discovery test; 206 SREBP1c-regulated genes (195; 95% upregulated) and 48 AMPK-regulated genes (33; 69% upregulated) remained. As expected, SREBP1c-induced genes included those involved in cholesterol (6), fatty acid (3), and eicosanoid synthesis. Interestingly, somatostatin receptor (sstr1) expression was increased by SREBP1c, whereas AMPK induced the expression of peptide YY, the early endocrine pancreas marker.
    Diabetes 12/2004; 53 Suppl 3:S84-91. · 8.29 Impact Factor
  • Article: AMP-activated protein kinase: a new beta-cell glucose sensor?: Regulation by amino acids and calcium ions.
    Isabelle Leclerc, Guy A Rutter
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    ABSTRACT: Stimulation of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) in skeletal muscle and liver is seen as an exciting prospect for the treatment of type 2 diabetes. However, we have recently demonstrated that changes in AMPK activity accompany the exposure of pancreatic islet beta-cells to elevated glucose concentrations and may be involved in the activation of insulin secretion. Here, we discuss this hypothesis and explore the potential role of changes in AMPK activity in the actions of other secretagogues. Amino acids decreased AMPK activity in MIN6 beta-cells with an order of potency for inhibition: arg=leu < gln= leu + glu < glucose, which was closely correlated with the stimulation of insulin release (r2=0.76). By contrast, increases in intracellular Ca2+ concentration provoked by cell depolarization with KCl activated AMPK in the face of increased free intracellular ATP concentrations. Elevation of intracellular cAMP levels with isobutylmethylxanthine or forskolin had no effect on AMPK activity. We conclude that metabolizable amino acids regulate AMPK in the beta-cell via increases in the cytosolic ATP/AMP ratio and via phosphorylation by the upstream kinase LKB1. Intracellular Ca2+ ions may activate AMPK by calmodulin kinase 1 kinase-mediated phosphorylation. The latter may act as a novel feedback mechanism to inhibit excessive insulin secretion under some circumstances.
    Diabetes 12/2004; 53 Suppl 3:S67-74. · 8.29 Impact Factor
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    Article: Impaired glucose homeostasis in transgenic mice expressing the human transient neonatal diabetes mellitus locus, TNDM.
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    ABSTRACT: Transient neonatal diabetes mellitus (TNDM) is a rare inherited diabetic syndrome apparent in the first weeks of life and again during early adulthood. The relative contributions of reduced islet beta cell number and impaired beta cell function to the observed hypoinsulinemia are unclear. The inheritance pattern of this imprinted disorder implicates overexpression of one or both genes within the TNDM locus: ZAC, which encodes a proapoptotic zinc finger protein, and HYMAI, which encodes an untranslated mRNA. To investigate the consequences for pancreatic function, we have developed a high-copy transgenic mouse line, TNDM29, carrying the human TNDM locus. TNDM29 neonates display hyperglycemia, and older adults, impaired glucose tolerance. Neonatal hyperglycemia occurs only on paternal transmission, analogous to paternal dependence of TNDM in humans. Embryonic pancreata of TNDM29 mice showed reductions in expression of endocrine differentiation factors and numbers of insulin-staining structures. By contrast, beta cell mass was normal or elevated at all postnatal stages, whereas pancreatic insulin content in neonates and peak serum insulin levels after glucose infusion in adults were reduced. Expression of human ZAC and HYMAI in these transgenic mice thus recapitulates key features of TNDM and implicates impaired development of the endocrine pancreas and beta cell function in disease pathogenesis.
    Journal of Clinical Investigation 09/2004; 114(3):339-48. · 15.39 Impact Factor
  • Article: Metformin, but not leptin, regulates AMP-activated protein kinase in pancreatic islets: impact on glucose-stimulated insulin secretion.
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    ABSTRACT: Metformin, a drug widely used in the treatment of type 2 diabetes, has recently been shown to act on skeletal muscle and liver in part through the activation of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK). Whether metformin or the satiety factor leptin, which also stimulates AMPK in muscle, regulates this enzyme in pancreatic islets is unknown. We have recently shown that forced increases in AMPK activity inhibit insulin secretion from MIN6 cells (da Silva Xavier G, Leclerc I, Varadi A, Tsuboi T, Moule SK, and Rutter GA. Biochem J 371: 761-774, 2003). Here, we explore whether 1) glucose, metformin, or leptin regulates AMPK activity in isolated islets from rodent and human and 2) whether changes in AMPK activity modulate insulin secretion from human islets. Increases in glucose concentration from 0 to 3 and from 3 to 17 mM inhibited AMPK activity in primary islets from mouse, rat, and human, confirming previous findings in insulinoma cells. Incubation with metformin (0.2-1 mM) activated AMPK in both human islets and MIN6 beta-cells in parallel with an inhibition of insulin secretion, whereas leptin (10-100 nM) was without effect in MIN6 cells. These studies demonstrate that AMPK activity is subject to regulation by both glucose and metformin in pancreatic islets and clonal beta-cells. The inhibitory effects of metformin on insulin secretion may therefore need to be considered with respect to the use of this drug for the treatment of type 2 diabetes.
    AJP Endocrinology and Metabolism 07/2004; 286(6):E1023-31. · 4.75 Impact Factor
  • Article: Over-expression of sterol-regulatory-element-binding protein-1c (SREBP1c) in rat pancreatic islets induces lipogenesis and decreases glucose-stimulated insulin release: modulation by 5-aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide ribonucleoside (AICAR).
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    ABSTRACT: Accumulation of intracellular lipid by pancreatic islet beta-cells has been proposed to inhibit normal glucose-regulated insulin secretion ('glucolipotoxicity'). In the present study, we determine whether over-expression in rat islets of the lipogenic transcription factor SREBP1c (sterol-regulatory-element-binding protein-1c) affects insulin release, and whether changes in islet lipid content may be reversed by activation of AMPK (AMP-activated protein kinase). Infection with an adenovirus encoding the constitutively active nuclear fragment of SREBP1c resulted in expression of the protein in approx. 20% of islet cell nuclei, with a preference for beta-cells at the islet periphery. Real-time PCR (TaqMan) analysis showed that SREBP1c up-regulated the expression of FAS (fatty acid synthase; 6-fold), acetyl-CoA carboxylase-1 (2-fold), as well as peroxisomal-proliferator-activated receptor-gamma (7-fold), uncoupling protein-2 (1.4-fold) and Bcl2 (B-cell lymphocytic-leukaemia proto-oncogene 2; 1.3-fold). By contrast, levels of pre-proinsulin, pancreatic duodenal homeobox-1, glucokinase and GLUT2 (glucose transporter isoform-2) mRNAs were unaltered. SREBP1c-transduced islets displayed a 3-fold increase in triacylglycerol content, decreased glucose oxidation and ATP levels, and a profound inhibition of glucose-, but not depolarisation-, induced insulin secretion. Culture of islets with the AMPK activator 5-amino-4-imidazolecarboxamide riboside decreased the expression of the endogenous SREBP1c and FAS genes, and reversed the effect of over-expressing active SREBP1c on FAS mRNA levels and cellular triacylglycerol content. We conclude that SREBP1c over-expression, even when confined to a subset of beta-cells, leads to defective insulin secretion from islets and may contribute to some forms of Type II diabetes.
    Biochemical Journal 04/2004; 378(Pt 3):769-78. · 4.90 Impact Factor
  • Article: Imaging glucose-regulated insulin secretion and gene expression in single islet beta-cells: control by AMP-activated protein kinase.
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    ABSTRACT: The mechanisms by which changes in glucose concentration regulate gene expression and insulin secretion in pancreatic islet beta-cells are only partly understood. Here we describe the development of new technologies for examining these processes at the level of single living beta-cells. We also present recent findings, made using these and other techniques, which implicate a role for adenosine 5'-monophosphate-activated protein kinase in glucose signaling in these cells.
    Cell biochemistry and biophysics 02/2004; 40(3 Suppl):179-90. · 3.34 Impact Factor
  • Article: 5'-AMP-activated protein kinase controls insulin-containing secretory vesicle dynamics.
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    ABSTRACT: Changes in 5'-AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) activity have recently been implicated in the control of insulin secretion by glucose (da Silva Xavier, G., Leclerc, I., Varadi, A., Tsuboi, T., Moule, S. K., and Rutter, G. A. (2003) Biochem. J. 371, 761-774). Here, we examine the possibility that activation of AMPK may regulate distal steps in insulin secretion, including vesicle movement and fusion with the plasma membrane. Vesicle dynamics were imaged in single pancreatic MIN6 beta-cells expressing lumen-targeted pH-insensitive yellow fluorescent protein, neuropeptide Y.Venus, or monomeric red fluorescent protein by total internal reflection fluorescence and Nipkow disc confocal microscopy. Overexpression of a truncated, constitutively active form of AMPK (AMPKalpha1, 1-312, T172D; AMPK CA), inhibited glucose-stimulated (30 versus 3.0 mM) vesicle movements, and decreased the number of vesicles docked or fusing at the plasma membrane, while having no effect on the kinetics of individual secretory events. Expression of the activated form of AMPK also prevented dispersal of the cortical actin network at high glucose concentrations. Monitored in permeabilized cells, where the effects of AMPK CA on glucose metabolism and ATP synthesis were bypassed, AMPK CA inhibited Ca2+ and ATP-induced insulin secretion, and decreased ATP-dependent vesicle movements. These findings suggest that components of the vesicle transport network, including vesicle-associated motor proteins, may be targets of AMPK in beta-cells, dephosphorylation of which is required for vesicle mobilization at elevated glucose concentrations.
    Journal of Biological Chemistry 01/2004; 278(52):52042-51. · 4.77 Impact Factor
  • Article: Imaging glucose-regulated insulin secretion and gene expression in single islet β-cells
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    ABSTRACT: The mechanisms by which changes in glucose concentration regulate gene expression and insulin secretion in pancreatic islet β-cells are only partly understood. Here we describe the development of new technologies for examining these processes at the level of single living β-cells. We also present recent findings, made using these and other techniques, which implicate a role for adenosine 5′-monophosphate-activated protein kinase in glucose signaling in these cells.
    Cell Biochemistry and Biophysics 12/2003; 40:179-190. · 3.74 Impact Factor