title: Modulation of Pancreatic Islets' Function and Survival During Aging Involves the Differential Regulation of Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress by p21 and CHOP.
abstract: Although endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress is recognized as a major mechanism causing pancreatic dysfunction in diabetes, little is known on how aging modulates the process. Here, we compared the response with ER stress, viability, and insulin release from pancreatic islets of young (6 weeks) or aged (14 months) mice.
  
  
  
  Islets from aged mice were more sensitive to ER stress than their younger counterparts; they exhibited more pronounced unfolded protein response (UPR) and caspase activation and displayed compromised insulin release after high-glucose stimulation. Genetic ablation of p21 sensitized the islets to ER stress, especially in the aged group, whereas CHOP ablation was protective for islets from both aged and younger animals. Ciclopirox (CPX), an iron chelator that stimulates p21 expression, protected islets from glucotoxicity and mice from diet-induced diabetes, especially in the aged group in a manner that was both p21 and CHOP dependent.
  
  
  
  For the first time, the study shows that age-dependent susceptibility to diet-induced diabetes is associated with the activity of p21 and CHOP in pancreatic islets and that CPX protects islets from glucotoxicity and mice from diabetes in an age-dependent manner.
  
  
  
  Our results identify ER stress as an age-dependent modifier of islet survival and function by mechanisms implicating enhancement of CHOP activity and inhibition of the protective activity of p21. These findings suggest that interventions restoring the homeostatic activity of ER stress, by agents such as CPX, may be particularly beneficial for the management of diabetes in the elderly. Antioxid. Redox Signal. 27, 185-200.
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Biological Chemistry, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens , Medical School, Athens, Greece .
authors.forename: Chrysovalantou
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Mihailidou
authors.affiliation: 2 Department of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology, University of South Carolina School of Medicine , Columbia, South Carolina.
authors.forename: Ioulia
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Chatzistamou
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Biological Chemistry, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens , Medical School, Athens, Greece .
authors.forename: Athanasios G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Papavassiliou
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Biological Chemistry, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens , Medical School, Athens, Greece .|3 Department of Drug Discovery and Biomedical Sciences, University of South Carolina , Columbia, South Carolina.
authors.forename: Hippokratis
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kiaris
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging / Q000378:metabolism*; D000818:Animals; D002470:Cell Survival; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D050759:Cyclin-Dependent Kinase Inhibitor p21 / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000378:metabolism*; D059305:Diet, High-Fat / Q000009:adverse effects; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D059865:Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D055786:Gene Knockout Techniques; D007328:Insulin / Q000378:metabolism; D007515:Islets of Langerhans / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism; D051379:Mice; D051742:Transcription Factor CHOP / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: C493957:Cdkn1a protein, mouse; D050759:Cyclin-Dependent Kinase Inhibitor p21; C497250:Ddit3 protein, mouse; D007328:Insulin; D051742:Transcription Factor CHOP
keywords: aging; beta cells; chaperone; ciclopirox; glucose; glucotoxicity; unfolded protein response