Pancreatic beta-cell signaling: toward better understanding of diabetes and its treatment.
Pancreatic beta-cells play a central role in the maintenance glucose homeostasis by secreting insulin, a key hormone that regulates blood glucose levels. Dysfunction of the beta-cells and/or a decrease in the beta-cell mass are associated closely with the pathogenesis and pathophysiology of diabetes mellitus, a major metabolic disease that is rapidly increasing worldwide. Clarification of the mechanisms of insulin secretion and beta-cell fate provides a basis for the understanding of diabetes and its better treatment. In this review, we discuss cell signaling critical for the insulin secretory function based on our recent studies.
Seino
Susumu
S
Division of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Department of Physiology and Cell Biology, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, Hyogo, Japan. seino@med.kobe-u.ac.jp
Shibasaki
Tadao
T
Minami
Kohtaro
K
D000818:Animals; D000242:Cyclic AMP / Q000378:metabolism; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology* / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D007328:Insulin / Q000378:metabolism; D000078790:Insulin Secretion; D050417:Insulin-Secreting Cells / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D046790:Pancreas, Exocrine / Q000473:pathology; D015398:Signal Transduction
D007328:Insulin; D000242:Cyclic AMP