title: Glucose modulation of insulin mRNA levels is dependent on transcription factor PDX-1 and occurs independently of changes in intracellular Ca2+.
abstract: Glucose regulates insulin production in pancreatic beta-cells in the long term by stimulating insulin gene transcription. These effects are partially mediated through the activity of a homeodomain transcription factor, PDX-1, which binds to four sites within the human insulin gene promoter. The availability of a human beta-like cell line, NES2Y, which lacks PDX-1 but expresses the insulin gene, allowed us to determine whether PDX-1 was essential for the stimulatory effect of glucose on insulin mRNA levels. In NES2Y cells, glucose had no effect on the insulin gene promoter linked to a firefly luciferase reporter or on endogenous insulin mRNA levels. However, in NES2Y cells stably transfected with PDX-1 (NES-PDX-1), glucose exhibited a marked stimulatory effect on both the insulin promoter (5+/-0.2-fold, n = 6) and insulin mRNA levels (4.8+/-0.5-fold, n = 4). NES2Y cells were derived from a patient with persistent hyperinsulinemic hypoglycemia of infancy; the cells therefore lacked operational ATP-sensitive potassium channels, which results in the failure to control depolarization-dependent intracellular Ca2+ signaling. Despite the loss of control of Ca2+ channel activity, NES-PDX-1 cells maintained normal glucose-responsive insulin gene regulation. These results demonstrate that glucose modulation of insulin mRNA levels is dependent on the activity of PDX-1 and that these effects are independent of changes in intracellular Ca2+ concentrations.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of Aberdeen, Institute of Medical Sciences, Foresterhill, UK.
authors.forename: W M
authors.initials: WM
authors.lastname: Macfarlane
authors.forename: R M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Shepherd
authors.forename: K E
authors.initials: KE
authors.lastname: Cosgrove
authors.forename: R F
authors.initials: RF
authors.lastname: James
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Dunne
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Docherty
mesh_terms: D002118:Calcium / Q000378:metabolism*; D002460:Cell Line; D005947:Glucose / Q000494:pharmacology*; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins; D006801:Humans; D007328:Insulin / Q000235:genetics*; D007425:Intracellular Membranes / Q000378:metabolism*; D009994:Osmolar Concentration; D010182:Pancreatic Diseases / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic / Q000187:drug effects; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000378:metabolism*; D015534:Trans-Activators / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D014162:Transfection
chemical_list: D018398:Homeodomain Proteins; D007328:Insulin; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D015534:Trans-Activators; C084010:pancreatic and duodenal homeobox 1 protein; D005947:Glucose; D002118:Calcium