One of the factors underlying the development of type 2 diabetes is loss of β cell mass, resulting in decreased insulin production. Once lost, β cell mass cannot be restored. In contrast, infants with focal hyperinsulinism of infancy exhibit rapid expansion of the β cell mass due to a silencing of a region of chromosome 11 that includes the gene encoding the cell cycle inhibitor p57 Kip2 .
In this issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation , Klaus Kaestner and colleagues at the University of Pennsylvania demonstrate that silencing the gene encoding p57 Kip2 in isolated adult human islets promotes β cell replication and that these new cells exhibit many properties associated with β cells.
This study provides an explanation for excessive β cell expansion in children with focal hyperinsulinism and suggests that targeting the p57 Kip2 pathway in adults with type 2 diabetes may improve β cell function.
TITLE: Targeting the cell cycle inhibitor p57 Kip2 promotes adult human β cell replication
AUTHOR CONTACT: Klaus Kaestner
University of Pennsylvania, Perelman School of Medicine, Philadeplhia, PA, USA
Phone: 215.898.8759; Fax: 215.573.5892; E-mail: kaestner@mail.med.upenn.edu
View this article at: http://www.jci.org/articles/view/69519?key=5ed5fc651e71db738504
Journal of Clinical Investigation