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β Cell–specific deletion of Zfp148 improves nutrient-stimulated β cell Ca2+ responses
Christopher H. Emfinger, Eleonora de Klerk, Kathryn L. Schueler, Mary E. Rabaglia, Donnie S. Stapleton, Shane P. Simonett, Kelly A. Mitok, Ziyue Wang, Xinyue Liu, Joao A. Paulo, Qing Yu, Rebecca L. Cardone, Hannah R. Foster, Sophie L. Lewandowski, José C. Perales, Christina M. Kendziorski, Steven P. Gygi, Richard G. Kibbey, Mark P. Keller, Matthias Hebrok, Matthew J. Merrins, Alan D. Attie
Christopher H. Emfinger, Eleonora de Klerk, Kathryn L. Schueler, Mary E. Rabaglia, Donnie S. Stapleton, Shane P. Simonett, Kelly A. Mitok, Ziyue Wang, Xinyue Liu, Joao A. Paulo, Qing Yu, Rebecca L. Cardone, Hannah R. Foster, Sophie L. Lewandowski, José C. Perales, Christina M. Kendziorski, Steven P. Gygi, Richard G. Kibbey, Mark P. Keller, Matthias Hebrok, Matthew J. Merrins, Alan D. Attie
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Research Article Endocrinology Metabolism

β Cell–specific deletion of Zfp148 improves nutrient-stimulated β cell Ca2+ responses

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Abstract

Insulin secretion from pancreatic β cells is essential for glucose homeostasis. An insufficient response to the demand for insulin results in diabetes. We previously showed that β cell–specific deletion of Zfp148 (β-Zfp148KO) improves glucose tolerance and insulin secretion in mice. Here, we performed Ca2+ imaging of islets from β‑Zfp148KO and control mice fed both a chow and a Western-style diet. β-Zfp148KO islets demonstrated improved sensitivity and sustained Ca2+ oscillations in response to elevated glucose levels. β-Zfp148KO islets also exhibited elevated sensitivity to amino acid–induced Ca2+ influx under low glucose conditions, suggesting enhanced mitochondrial phosphoenolpyruvate-dependent (PEP-dependent), ATP-sensitive K+ channel closure, independent of glycolysis. RNA-Seq and proteomics of β-Zfp148KO islets revealed altered levels of enzymes involved in amino acid metabolism (specifically, SLC3A2, SLC7A8, GLS, GLS2, PSPH, PHGDH, and PSAT1) and intermediary metabolism (namely, GOT1 and PCK2), consistent with altered PEP cycling. In agreement with this, β-Zfp148KO islets displayed enhanced insulin secretion in response to l-glutamine and activation of glutamate dehydrogenase. Understanding pathways controlled by ZFP148 may provide promising strategies for improving β cell function that are robust to the metabolic challenge imposed by a Western diet.

Authors

Christopher H. Emfinger, Eleonora de Klerk, Kathryn L. Schueler, Mary E. Rabaglia, Donnie S. Stapleton, Shane P. Simonett, Kelly A. Mitok, Ziyue Wang, Xinyue Liu, Joao A. Paulo, Qing Yu, Rebecca L. Cardone, Hannah R. Foster, Sophie L. Lewandowski, José C. Perales, Christina M. Kendziorski, Steven P. Gygi, Richard G. Kibbey, Mark P. Keller, Matthias Hebrok, Matthew J. Merrins, Alan D. Attie

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Figure 1

β-Zfp148KO islets show improved glucose sensitivity and altered Ca2+ duty cycle.

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β-Zfp148KO islets show improved glucose sensitivity and altered Ca2+ dut...
(A) Islets from 2 animals were imaged simultaneously during perifusion (left) by labeling 1 animal’s islets with the lipid dye DiR (right; scale bar: 100 μm). (B) Detrended example traces from simultaneously imaged Zfp148fl/fl control and β-Zfp148KO islets using Fura Red. Islets from chow-fed (top) and WD-fed mice (bottom) were imaged during a glucose (gluc) ramp (3, 4.5, 6, 7.5, 8, and 9 mM glucose; transition times shown by dotted lines). (C) MATLAB scripts measure base and peak width for oscillations to determine duty cycle in Zfp148fl/fl control and β-Zfp148KO islets. (D) By-islet duty-cycle measurements from islets of female (left) and male (right) Zfp148fl/fl control and β-Zfp148KO mice fed chow (top) and WD (bottom). Dots indicate individual islet trace values for each condition and gene. Overlaid box plots show summary data (top and bottom edges indicate 25th and 75th percentile, respectively; the 50th percentile is indicated by the midline, and lines on either side mark 1.5× the IQR). Statistical significances (Šidák post tests after 2-way ANOVA, corrected for multiple comparisons) are indicated. (E) By-animal dose-response curves derived from average duty-cycle measurements for β-Zfp148KO and littermate control mice for the conditions in D. The number of animals analyzed per group is indicated in parentheses. Mean ± SEM are plotted, with the line representing the sigmoidal dose-response curve determined using PRISM. Statistical comparisons of fitted curves are shown above the curves, as determined using extra sum-of-squares F test. (D and E) *adjusted P < 0.05, **adjusted P < 0.01, ***adjusted P < 0.001, and ****adjusted P < 0.0001. Subthreshold P values for point comparisons in E are indicated above the relevant points. These data were derived from ≥140 islets from ≥3 mice per sex per diet per genotype. Islet and animal distributions per group are in listed in Table 1.

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