研究会のご案内
リエゾンラボ研究会
発表内容

Title:
Regulation of pancreatic β cell mass

Hirotaka Watada
Juntendo Graduate School of Medicine, Department of Metabolism and Endocrinology

Abstract:
The prevalence of Type 2 diabetes mellitus is increasing all over the world. This disease is caused by insulin resistance and impaired pancreatic β cell function. While the insulin resistance is constantly present before the onset of diabetes, blood glucose level gradually increases as the disease progress. This increase is associated well with the gradual decrease of pancreatic beta cell mass. Accordingly, the decrease of pancreatic beta cell mass is regarded as one of the substantial defects of type 2 diabetes. Thus, if we could understand how beta cell mass is regulated and how this mechanism is disturbed in type 2 diabetes, these knowledge would eventually contribute to establish the new method to amplify the beta cell mass which is decreased in the individuals of type 2 diabetes.
In the process to find the key factors to regulate beta cell mass, we recently found that the autophagy in beta cells is essential for the increase of beta cell mass induced by insulin resistance. More recently, we found the mechanism of the increase in beta cell mass during the pregnancy. In this talk, I would like to summarize our recent progress of the research regarding the mechanism of regulation of beta cell mass .

References:
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