Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0011849 (diabetes)
 277,896 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The pancreatic and duodenal homeobox factor-1 (PDX-1), also known as IDX-1/STF-1/IPF1, a homeodomain-containing transcription factor, plays a central role in regulating pancreatic development and insulin gene transcription. Furthermore, even in adults, PDX-1 is associated with islet neogenesis and differentiation of insulin-producing cells from progenitor cells. Here, we report for the first time that PDX-1 protein can permeate cells due to an Antennapedia-like protein transduction domain sequence in its structure and that transduced PDX-1 functions similarly to endogenous PDX-1; it binds to the insulin promoter and activates its expression. PDX-1 protein can also permeate into isolated pancreatic islets, which leads to stimulation of insulin gene expression. Moreover, PDX-1 protein transduced into cultures of pancreatic ducts, thought to be islet progenitor cells, induces insulin gene expression. These data suggest that PDX-1 protein transduction could be a safe and valuable strategy for enhancing insulin gene transcription and for facilitating differentiation of ductal progenitor cells into insulin-producing cells without requiring gene transfer technology.
Diabetes 2003 Jul
PMID:PDX-1 protein containing its own antennapedia-like protein transduction domain can transduce pancreatic duct and islet cells. 1282 40

Oxidative stress is produced under diabetic conditions and is likely involved in progression of pancreatic beta-cell dysfunction found in diabetes. Possibly caused by low levels of antioxidant enzyme expressions, pancreatic beta-cells are vulnerable to oxidative stress. When beta-cell-derived HIT-T15 cells or isolated rat islets were exposed to oxidative stress, insulin gene expression was markedly decreased. To investigate the significance of oxidative stress in the progression of pancreatic beta-cell dysfunction in type 2 diabetes, we evaluated the effects of antioxidants in diabetic C57BL/KsJ-db/db mice. According to an intraperitoneal glucose tolerance test, the treatment with antioxidants retained glucose-stimulated insulin secretion and moderately decreased blood glucose levels. Histological analyses of the pancreata revealed that the beta-cell mass was significantly larger in the mice treated with the antioxidants, and the antioxidant treatment suppressed apoptosis in beta-cells without changing the rate of beta-cell proliferation. The antioxidant treatment also preserved the amounts of insulin content and insulin mRNA, making the extent of insulin degranulation less evident. As possible mechanism underlying the phenomena, expression of pancreatic and duodenal homeobox factor-1 (also known as IDX-1/STF-1/IPF1), an important transcription factor for the insulin gene, was more clearly visible in the nuclei of islet cells after the antioxidant treatment. Under diabetic conditions, JNK is activated by oxidative stress and involved in the suppression of insulin gene expression. This JNK effect appears to be mediated in part by nucleocytoplasmic translocation of PDX-1, which is also downstream of JNK activation. Taken together, oxidative stress and consequent activation of the JNK pathway are involved in progression of beta-cell dysfunction found in diabetes. Antioxidants may serve as a novel mechanism-based therapy for type 2 diabetes.
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PMID:Role of oxidative stress in pancreatic beta-cell dysfunction. 1512 94

Oxidative stress is induced under diabetic conditions through various pathways, including the electron transport chain in mitochondria and the nonenzymatic glycosylation reaction, and is likely involved in progression of pancreatic beta-cell dysfunction developing in diabetes. beta-Cells are vulnerable to oxidative stress, possibly due to low levels of antioxidant enzyme expression. When oxidative stress was induced in vitro in beta cells, the insulin gene promoter activity and mRNA levels were suppressed, accompanied by the reduced activity of pancreatic and duodenal homeobox factor-1 (PDX-1) (also known as IDX-1/STF-1/IPF1), an important transcription factor for the insulin gene. The suppression of oxidative stress by a potent antioxidant, N-acetyl-l-cysteine or probucol, led to the recovery of insulin biosynthesis and PDX-1 expression in nuclei and improved glucose tolerance in animal models for type 2 diabetes. As a possible cause of this, we recently found that PDX-1 was translocated from the nucleus to the cytoplasm in response to oxidative stress. Furthermore, the addition of a dominant-negative form of c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) inhibited the oxidative stress-induced PDX-1 translocation, suggesting an essential role of JNK in mediating the phenomenon. Taken together, the oxidative stress-mediated activation of the JNK pathway leads to nucleocytoplasmic translocation of PDX-1 and thus is likely involved in the progression of beta-cell dysfunction found in diabetes.
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PMID:Oxidative stress and pancreatic beta-cell dysfunction. 1628 Jun 46


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