Insulin resistance alters islet morphology in nondiabetic humans

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articleResearchpeer-review

  • Teresa Mezza
  • Giovanna Muscogiuri
  • Gian Pio Sorice
  • Gennaro Clemente
  • Jiang Hu
  • Alfredo Pontecorvi
  • Holst, Jens Juul
  • Andrea Giaccari
  • Rohit N Kulkarni

Type 2 diabetes is characterized by poor glucose uptake in metabolic tissues and manifests when insulin secretion fails to cope with worsening insulin resistance. In addition to its effects on skeletal muscle, liver, and adipose tissue metabolism, it is evident that insulin resistance also affects pancreatic β-cells. To directly examine the alterations that occur in islet morphology as part of an adaptive mechanism to insulin resistance, we evaluated pancreas samples obtained during pancreatoduodenectomy from nondiabetic subjects who were insulin-resistant or insulin-sensitive. We also compared insulin sensitivity, insulin secretion, and incretin levels between the two groups. We report an increased islet size and an elevated number of β- and α-cells that resulted in an altered β-cell-to-α-cell area in the insulin- resistant group. Our data in this series of studies suggest that neogenesis from duct cells and transdifferentiation of α-cells are potential contributors to the β-cell compensatory response to insulin resistance in the absence of overt diabetes.

Original languageEnglish
JournalDiabetes
Volume63
Issue number3
Pages (from-to)994-1007
Number of pages14
ISSN0012-1797
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Mar 2014

    Research areas

  • Adult, Aged, Female, Glucagon-Like Peptide 1, Glucagon-Secreting Cells, Humans, Hyperplasia, Insulin Resistance, Insulin-Secreting Cells, Islets of Langerhans, Male, Middle Aged, Pancreatectomy

ID: 117853024