Young vessels rejuvenate aged insulin-producing beta cells
A new study part-funded by the European Research Council has shown that young capillary vessels rejuvenate aged pancreatic islets.
The findings by scientists at Sweden’s Karolinska Institutet challenge prevailing views on the causes of age-dependent impaired glucose balance regulation, a condition that often develops into Type 2 diabetes. The international research team behind the study now suggest that targeting inflammation and fibrosis in the small blood vessels of the pancreatic islets may offer a new way of treatment for age-dependent dysregulation of blood glucose levels.
Speaking about the results, Per-Olof Berggren at the Rolf Luft Research Center for Diabetes and Endocrinology at Karolinska Institutet, said: “This is an unexpected but highly important finding, which we expect will have a significant impact on diabetes research in the future. The results indicate that beta cell function does not decline with age, and instead suggest that islet function is threatened by an age-dependent impairment of vessels that support them with oxygen and nutrients.”
Beta cells are located in the pancreatic islets and secrete the hormone insulin; they play a key role in regulating blood glucose levels. Ageing may lead to a progressive decline in glucose regulation which may contribute to diabetes development. Generally, it has been assumed that this is due to reduced capacity of the beta cell to secrete insulin or multiply.
In marked contrast to the widely held notion that the insulin-producing pancreatic beta cell loses function with wear and tear, the researchers now show that mouse and human beta cells are fully functional at advanced age. When replacing the islet vasculature in aged islet grafts with young capillaries, the investigators found that the islets were rejuvenated and glucose homeostasis fully restored.
Concluding his thoughts on the investigation, Berggren said: “While expanding beta cell mass may still be desirable for future diabetes therapy, improving the local environment of the otherwise healthy aged beta cell could prevent age-associated deterioration in glucose homeostasis and thereby promote healthy ageing, which is conceptually novel and highly exciting.”
The study is published in the journal PNAS.
