Alpha cells, the main source of IL-1β in human pancreas.
Interleukin-1β (IL-1β) is known to trigger beta cell dysfunction in vitro and could potentially play a role during the pathogenesis of type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes. However, several clinical trials attempting to block IL-1β function have had minimal success. We therefore re-investigated local expression of IL-1β in human diabetic and non-diabetic pancreata. We obtained pancreatic tissue sections from the Network for Pancreatic Organ Donors with Diabetes (nPOD) including non-diabetic (n = 9), non-diabetic auto-antibody positive (AAb+, n = 5), type 1 diabetes (n = 6), and type 2 diabetes (n = 6) donors. Islets were systematically investigated for the presence of IL-1β mRNA by in situ hybridization and IL-1β protein by indirect immunofluorescence. We found that intra-islet IL-1β was produced at comparable level in both non-diabetic and diabetic donors. Interestingly, the main source for IL-1β was alpha cells but not beta cells. Our findings call into question the role of IL-1β in the diabetic pancreas as it has been proposed in previous literature. Additionally, our results regarding the localization of IL-1β should lead to further investigation into the role of IL-1β in the physiology of pancreatic alpha cells.
Type 1 Diabetes Center, La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology, La Jolla, CA, USA.
Florence
F
Anquetil
Type 1 Diabetes Center, La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology, La Jolla, CA, USA.
Somayeh
S
Sabouri
Type 1 Diabetes Center, La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology, La Jolla, CA, USA.
Charles
C
Thivolet
Type 1 Diabetes Center, La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology, La Jolla, CA, USA.
Teresa
T
Rodriguez-Calvo
Type 1 Diabetes Center, La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology, La Jolla, CA, USA.
Jose
J
Zapardiel-Gonzalo
Type 1 Diabetes Center, La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology, La Jolla, CA, USA.
Natalie
N
Amirian
Type 1 Diabetes Center, La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology, La Jolla, CA, USA.
Darius
D
Schneider
Type 1 Diabetes Center, La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology, La Jolla, CA, USA.
Ericka
E
Castillo
Type 1 Diabetes Center, La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology, La Jolla, CA, USA.
Yasaman
Y
Lajevardi
Type 1 Diabetes Center, La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology, La Jolla, CA, USA; Novo Nordisk Diabetes Research & Development Center, Seattle, Washington, USA. Electronic address: matthias@lji.org.
Matthias G
MG
von Herrath
D003922:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D015870:Gene Expression; D050416:Glucagon-Secreting Cells / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D053583:Interleukin-1beta / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D010179:Pancreas / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology
D053583:Interleukin-1beta
Alpha cells; Interleukin-1β; Pancreas; Type 1 diabetes