Abstract
Aims/hypothesis
Adult pancreatic islets contain multiple cell types that produce and secrete well characterised hormones, including insulin, glucagon and somatostatin. Although it is increasingly apparent that islets release and respond to more secreted factors than previously thought, systematic analyses are lacking. We therefore sought to identify potential autocrine and/or paracrine islet growth factor loops, and to characterise the function of the netrin family of islet-secreted factors and their receptors, which have been previously unreported in adult islets.
Methods
Gene expression databases, islet-specific tag sequencing libraries and microarray datasets of FACS purified beta cells were used to compile a list of secreted factors and receptors present in mouse or human islets. Netrins and their receptors were further assessed using RT-PCR, Western blot analysis and immunofluorescence staining. The roles of netrin-1 and netrin-4 in beta cell function, apoptosis and proliferation were also examined.
Results
We identified 233 secreted factors and 234 secreted factor receptors in islets. The presence of netrins and their receptors was further confirmed. Downregulation of caspase-3 activation was observed when MIN6 cells were exposed to exogenous netrin-1 and netrin-4 under hyperglycaemic conditions. Reduction in caspase-3 cleavage was linked to the decrease in dependence receptors, neogenin and unc-5 homologue A, as well as the activation of Akt and extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase (ERK) signalling.
Conclusions/interpretation
Our results highlight the large number of potential islet growth factors and point to a context-dependent pro-survival role for netrins in adult beta cells. Since diabetes results from a deficiency in functional beta cell mass, these studies are important steps towards developing novel therapies to improve beta cell survival.
Similar content being viewed by others
Introduction
Pancreatic islets are micro-organs that contain mainly insulin-secreting beta cells, as well as glucagon-secreting alpha cells and somatostatin-secreting delta cells. Rare cell types are also found, including multi-hormonal cells [1]. The loss of functional beta cell mass results in diabetes. Factors that could increase beta cell growth, survival or function are therefore urgently needed. In recent years, candidate gene studies have demonstrated that islets express and secrete factors in addition to the classical hormones, including multiple cytokines, neuropeptides and growth factors [2, 3]. In parallel, targeted studies have revealed growth factors that promote islet cell survival when overexpressed or added exogenously. For example, we and others have demonstrated potent anti-apoptotic and proliferative roles of insulin and IGF-1 [4–6]. Increasing the production of islet glucagon-like peptide 1 is also protective [7]. A novel isoform of the anti-apoptotic hormone gastric inhibitory polypeptide is also produced in islets [8, 9]. Growth hormone, prolactin or placental lactogens can promote beta cell survival [10, 11]. Similarly, overexpression of classical growth factors such as hepatocyte growth factor and fibroblast growth factor has been shown to exert positive effects on islets [12, 13], as has parathyroid hormone-related protein [14]. Activation of the erythroblastic leukaemia viral oncogene (ErbB) receptor pathway with betacellulin has been shown to protect beta cells and increase beta cell proliferation in a number of systems [15]. Emerging evidence suggests important roles for locally produced members of the TGFβ family, such as activin, follistatin and bone morphogenic proteins [16, 17]. These studies demonstrate that islet survival can be modulated by soluble factors, although in many cases it is not yet clear whether administration of these factors at doses that can be tolerated clinically will increase beta cell mass. Endogenous autocrine and/or paracrine signalling factors could be ideal starting points for diabetes therapies, as they can display local action and self-limiting feedback. Insulin is a potent, self-limiting islet survival factor [4] and a useful tool for in vitro preservation of functional islet mass, but the risk of hypoglycaemia makes insulin therapy for preventing loss of beta cell mass in vivo impractical. Other candidate local islet survival pathways have been investigated, including pituitary adenylyl cyclase-activating polypeptide [18], nerve growth factor [19] and Notch [20]. Nonetheless, our knowledge of the endogenous regulators of adult beta cell survival and proliferation remains insufficient. It is likely that many islet secreted factors and receptors remain undiscovered.
In the present study, we used gene expression databases to compile a list of 233 secreted factors and 234 receptors that are expressed in mouse or human islets, including those derived from FACS-purified human and mouse beta cells. Among these potential growth factors was a group of secreted molecules known to provide cellular and axonal guidance cues during neuronal development, comprising members of the netrin, slit, semaphorin and ephrin protein families [21, 22]. Given the many parallels between development and cell fate decisions in neurons and the endocrine pancreas, we focused on the netrin family and their receptors. In multiple tissues, including the developing pancreas, netrins have been implicated as regulators of cell adhesion, migration, differentiation and organ morphogenesis [21, 23, 24]. They regulate apoptosis via their dependence receptors [25–27] and downstream signalling pathways involving v-akt murine thymoma viral oncogene homologue (Akt), extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase (ERK) and apoptosis signal-regulating kinase 1 (ASK1) [21, 25, 26, 28]. Although it has been previously reported that netrin-1 expression is undetectable in adult pancreatic islet cells in the absence of tissue remodelling [23, 24], we show that multiple netrin proteins are present in adult beta cells, where they modulate caspase-3 activity in a context-dependent manner through the neogenin and unc-5 homologue (UNC5) A dependence receptors. Together, our genome-level findings point to a large number of potentially important local paracrine growth factor loops in pancreatic islets.
Methods
Bioinformatics and database search
Secreted factors and receptors in mouse or human islet cells were identified through bioinformatic database search. Human islet genes were also confirmed in the Massively parallel signature sequencing (MPSS) data set of Kutlu et al. [29]. A mouse islet tag sequencing library was analysed for RefSeq accessions with tag counts greater than five as described [30, 31] (see also Electronic supplementary material [ESM] Methods). Briefly, DNaseI-treated total RNA isolated from hand-picked islets was used for tag sequencing libraries, sequenced to a depth of 7,481,000 tags. Tags with a count of less than six were considered to be not expressed. In this way we identified 7,098 unique RefSeqs. A total of 4,810 RefSeq transcripts were expressed (ESM Table 1). The transcriptomes of human and mouse FACS-purified beta cells [32] were also analysed by microarray (for details, see ESM Methods). Dispersed mouse or human islet cells were stably infected with reporter lentivirus for detection of Pdx1 and Ins1 promoter activities. RNA was isolated from FACS-purified Pdx1 +/Ins + cells. cRNA was generated, labelled and hybridised to BeadChips (MouseWG-6 version 2.0, Human WG-6 version 3.0 BeadChips; Illumina, San Diego, CA, USA) for mouse or human samples, respectively. The Gene Expression Analysis Module in BeadStudio 3.3 software (Illumina) was used for background correction and normalisation. Probe sets with a detection p value of p < 0.05 were considered detected (i.e. significantly expressed). Gene expression was confirmed using T1Dbase [33]. Interactions between the ligands and receptors were found via PubMed.
Reagents
Chemicals were from Sigma (St Louis, MO, USA) unless specified. Recombinant mouse netrin-1 and netrin-4 were from R&D Systems (Minneapolis, MN, USA). Netrin-1 rabbit monoclonal antibody was from Calbiochem (La Jolla, CA, USA). Polyclonal antibodies to netrin-4 (rabbit), neogenin (goat), UNC5A (goat) and UNC5C (goat) were from Santa Cruz (Santa Cruz, CA, USA). Guinea pig polyclonal insulin (Linco, St Charles, MO, USA), mouse monoclonal glucagon (Sigma), mouse monoclonal β-actin (Novus, Littleton, CO, USA) antibodies were purchased. Rabbit polyclonal antibodies to phospho-Akt (Ser473), phospho-Akt (Thr308), Akt, ERK1/2, phospho-ASK1 (Thr845), ASK1, phospho-c-Jun N-terminal kinase 1 (JNK) (Thr183/Tyr185) and JNK, and mouse monoclonal antibody phospho-ERK1/2 (Thr202/Tyr204) were from Cell Signaling Technology (Danvers, MA, USA). Draq5 nuclear stain was from Biostatus (Loughborough, UK).
Primary islet isolation and cell culture
Pancreatic islets were isolated from 6- to 30-week-old male C57BL/6J mice (Jax, Bar Harbor, MA, USA) using collagenase and filtration. Mice were housed in accordance with the University of British Columbia Animal Care Committee guidelines. Human islets (>80% purity estimated by dithizone staining) and pancreas were provided by G. Warnock (Department of Surgery, University of British Colombia), collected via protocols approved by the University of British Columbia Institutional Advisory Board. Donors were men and women aged 23 to 56 years. None of the donors were known to have diabetes. The islets were further hand-picked using a brightfield microscope. Islets were cultured overnight (37°C, 5% CO2) in RPMI1640 medium (Invitrogen, Burlington, ON, Canada) with 5 mmol/l glucose (Sigma), 100 U/ml penicillin, 100 μg/ml streptomycin (Invitrogen) and 10% (vol./vol.) FBS (Invitrogen). MIN6 cells were cultured in Dulbecco’s modified Eagle’s medium (Invitrogen) containing 25 mmol/l glucose, 100 U/ml penicillin, 100 μg/ml streptomycin and 10% (vol./vol.) FBS.
RT-PCR
Total RNA was isolated from mouse primary islet and exocrine cells and MIN6 cells using Trizol, followed by clean-up with a kit (RNeasy; Qiagen, Mississauga, ON, Canada). Reverse transcription (SuperScript III; Invitrogen) was used to generate cDNA. PCR conditions and primer sequences are detailed in ESM Table 2. TaqMan quantitative RT-PCR was conducted using probes from Applied Biosystems (Streetsville, ON, Canada) and PerfeCTa qPCR SuperMix (Quanta, Gaithersburg, MD, USA) on a device (StepOnePlus; Applied Biosystems). Relative gene expression changes were analysed by \( {2^{{ - \Delta {{\rm{C}}_{\rm{t}}}}}} \)or \( {2^{{ - \Delta \Delta {{\rm{C}}_{\rm{t}}}}}} \)methods.
Immunofluorescence imaging and BrdU-labelling
MIN6 cells were fixed in 4% (wt/vol.) paraformaldehyde (10 min) and permeabilised using 0.1% (vol./vol.) Triton X-100 (10 min). Antigen retrieval was conducted on de-paraffinised pancreas sections by boiling for 15 min in sodium citrate buffer (10 mmol/l Na3C6H5O7, 0.05% (vol./vol.) Tween-20, pH 6.0). Normal goat serum (10% [vol./vol.]) was used for blocking. Primary antibodies (1:50) were incubated overnight at 4°C. Aminomethylcoumarin acetate (1:200; Jackson ImmunoResearch, West Grove, PA, USA) AlexaFluor-488- and -594-conjugated secondary antibodies (1:400; Invitrogen) were incubated for 1 h at 20°C, prior to mounting in Vectashield (Vector Laboratories, Burlington, ON, Canada). Cells were imaged using an inverted microscope equipped with a 1.45 NA ×100 objective. For proliferation analysis [5], MIN6 cells were seeded into 96-well plates and 10 μmol/l BrdU was supplemented to the medium following 2 h of treatment. Cells were stained with a BrdU labelling kit (Roche, Laval, QC, Canada) then imaged (ImageXpress Micro; Molecular Devices, Silicon Valley, CA, USA).
Immunoblotting
MIN6 and islet cells were lysed with cell lysis buffer (Cell Signaling) containing protease inhibitors (Calbiochem). Lysates were sonicated for 20s then centrifuged for 10 min at 10,000 g. Protein concentrations were determined using a bicinchoninic acid assay (Thermo, Rockford, IL, USA). Proteins were separated on 12% (wt/vol.) SDS-PAGE gels and transferred to polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membranes. After blocking (0.2% [wt/vol.] I-block, 0.1% [vol./vol.] Tween-20 PBS), membranes were probed with primary antibodies (1:1000), followed by horseradish peroxidase-conjugated secondary antibodies (1:3,000; Cell Signaling). Immunodetection was performed using enhanced chemiluminescence (Thermo).
Insulin and netrin secretion
Mouse islets were perifused [20] and insulin secretion was measured by radioimmunoassay (Rat Insulin RIA Kit; Linco). Netrin-1 secretion was measured from 100 hand-picked human islets by ELISA (Enzo, Farmingdale, NY, USA).
cAMP and Ca2+ imaging
MIN6 cells seeded onto glass coverslips were transfected with the AKAR2 fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) probe [34] and imaged 48 h later. Cytosolic Ca2+ was imaged using Fura-2-AM (Invitrogen) as described [32]. Briefly, dispersed mouse islet cells seeded onto glass coverslips were loaded with 5 μmol/l Fura-2-AM for 30 min at 37°C. For cAMP and Ca2+ imaging, cells were incubated in Ringer’s solution containing (in mmol/l): 5.5 KCl, 2 CaCl2, 1 MgCl2, 20 HEPES, 141 NaCl and 3 glucose. Solutions were maintained at 37°C and cells were imaged using an inverted microscope (Zeiss 200 m; Intelligent Imaging Innovations, Denver, CO, USA) operated by Slidebook 5.0 software (Intelligent Imaging Innovations).
Statistics
Data are expressed as mean ± SEM unless otherwise indicated. Results were considered statistically significant when p < 0.05 using Student’s t test or ANOVA, where appropriate (GraphPad Prism; GraphPad, La Jolla, CA, USA).
Results
Bioinformatic and genomic analyses of islet secreted factors and receptors
We used bioinformatics and genomics to search for secreted factors and their receptors employing up to ten independent lines of evidence for each gene. A list of 233 secreted factors and 234 receptors expressed in mouse or human islets was compiled from Serial analysis of gene expression (SAGE) and tag sequencing libraries, microarrays of FACS-purified human beta cells and online databases (Figs 1, 2, ESM Tables 3, 4). Secretable factors could be classified into four categories: axon guidance factors, growth factors, hormones and cytokines. As expected, insulin and somatostatin ranked as the two most abundantly expressed genes in islets. Glucagon and islet amyloid polypeptide occupied two of the other top six spots. Some of the other secreted factors that were highly expressed were unexpected. In particular, islets and beta cells have very high levels of macrophage migration inhibitory factor and vascular endothelial growth factor A mRNA. The analysis of receptors across multiple databases was also highly informative. The type 1B activin A receptor was the most highly expressed receptor gene and many of the highest expressed genes were members of the TGF pathway. Receptors for adiponectin occupied two spots in the top five ranked genes. Commonly studied receptors, such as those for insulin, glucagon and glucagon-like peptide 1 were abundant (i.e. found in the top third of expressed receptor genes; Fig. 2, ESM Table 4), but not in the top ten.
In total, 190 autocrine and/or paracrine signalling pairs, consisting of both the secreted factor and its known receptor, were identified in islets (Fig. 3a). We and others have investigated the roles of TGFβ family members in islet function, including the reciprocal effects of local activin and follistatin on beta cell maturation [16]. We have also examined notch signalling [20]. The wingless-type MMTV integration site family (WNT)/frizzled (FZD) system has been under intense study since the implication of transcription factor 7-like 2 (TFC7L2) in type 2 diabetes. Follow-up of each gene family was beyond the scope of the present study.
Netrins are expressed in adult mouse and human islets
Among the more interesting families of ligand/receptor pairs were netrins and their receptors, best known for their roles in providing axonal guidance cues during neuronal development [21]. Actions of netrins outside of neuronal development have been described in mammary gland and lung branching morphogenesis [21, 24, 35, 36]. Netrins have been ascribed a role in pancreatic development [21, 23, 24], but were previously undetected in adult islet cells in the absence of injury [23, 24]. Three secreted netrins (netrin-1, -3, -4) and the two glucose-6-phosphate isomerase-anchored sub-classes (netrin-G1, netrin-G2) were identified via bioinformatics and genomics in mouse and human islets (Fig. 1, ESM Table 3). Netrin-4 and netrin-1 were identified as the 34th and 129th most abundant islet-secreted factors (Fig. 1, ESM Table 3), so we decided to focus on them, rather than on the less abundant netrin-3 and the glucose-6-phosphate isomerase-anchored isoforms. RT-PCR confirmed mRNA expression of the major netrin secreted factors in MIN6 cells and primary adult mouse islets isolated from 6- to 24-week-old mice (Fig. 4a). However, in MIN6 cells, netrin-4 transcript was not detected. Quantitative RT-PCR of FACS-purified human beta cells further confirmed the expression of netrin-1 and netrin-4 (Fig. 4b). Netrin-1 and netrin-4 protein was confirmed by immunoblotting of human and mouse islets (Fig. 4c, d). Netrin was more prominent in mouse islets than in exocrine tissue. Netrin-1 and netrin-4 antibodies showed two bands in human islets, possibly representing the known netrin variants [37]. Netrin-1 and netrin-4 levels were most prominent in islets from older mice, which is perhaps why we did not see robust protein production in the sub-differentiated MIN6 cells. Netrin-1 immunoreactivity was detected in mouse and human beta cells, but not in alpha cells (Fig. 4e, f). Netrin-4 immunoreactivity was detected in mouse beta and alpha cells, but only in beta cells in human tissue (Fig. 4e, f). Together with the bioinformatics described above, these data demonstrate unequivocally that netrins are present in adult pancreatic beta cells. Netrins signal through the extracellular domain of their receptors and must be secreted to be functional. Netrin-1 was constitutively secreted from human islets, independently of high glucose or arginine (Fig. 4g). Indeed, insulin and netrin-1 were stored in distinct secretory granules (Fig. 4h). Efforts to measure netrin-4 by ELISA were unsuccessful; however, we did observe distinct insulin and netrin-4 secretory granules (Fig. 4i).
Netrin signalling regulates caspase-3 activity, but not insulin release or proliferation
The expression of netrins in adult beta cells begs the question of their functional role. Netrin-1 and netrin-4 each decreased caspase-3 cleavage under hyperglycaemic conditions, suggesting a role in apoptosis (Fig. 5a, c). A trend towards decreased cleaved caspase-3 was also observed when mouse islets were treated with netrin-1 and 25 mmol/l glucose (ESM Fig. 1). Interestingly, under 5 mmol/l glucose conditions, netrin-1 increased cleaved caspase-3 following 16 h of treatment (Fig. 5a), but not after short treatments (ESM Fig. 2a, b), suggesting a temporal effect of netrin-1. While netrins promote proliferation in some cell types [28, 38, 39], neither netrin-1 nor netrin-4 had significant effects on BrdU incorporation in MIN6 beta cells (Fig. 5b, d). Exogenous netrin-1 and netrin-4 did not have significant effects on glucose-stimulated insulin secretion from mature mouse beta cells (Fig. 5e).
Neogenin and UNC5A mediate the effects of netrin-1 and netrin-4
The axonal guidance by netrins is mediated through DCC and UNC5 dependence receptors [21]. In adult mouse islets, mRNA for Unc5a, Unc5b, Unc5c and neogenin, but not Unc5d or Deleted in colon cancer (Dcc), was detected by RT-PCR (Fig. 6a). Western blots confirmed the presence of UNC5A, UNC5C and neogenin proteins in mouse islets, where age-dependent differential expression patterns were observed (Fig. 6a, b). Neogenin, UNC5A and UNC5C immunoreactivity was found in mouse and human alpha cells and beta cells (Fig. 6c, d).
Neogenin and UNC5 dependence receptors induce apoptosis in the absence of netrin ligand and inhibit apoptosis when netrin is bound [40, 41]. Netrin downregulates these receptors in other cell types [42]. Indeed, exogenous netrin-1 significantly decreased neogenin and UNC5A protein levels in beta cells (Fig. 7a, b). Transfection of MIN6 cells with netrin-1 also decreased neogenin levels, suggesting constitutive autocrine signalling (Fig. 7g). Netrin-1 also decreased neogenin, but not UNC5A, in mouse islets (Fig. 7e, f). When MIN6 cells were treated with exogenous netrin-4 under high glucose, a decrease in UNC5A levels was observed, while neogenin remained unchanged (Fig. 7c, d). Together these data suggest that netrin-1 and netrin-4 decrease caspase-3 cleavage in adult beta cells via downregulation of distinct dependence receptors, specifically under high glucose conditions. Interestingly, glucose alone caused a significant increase in UNC5A protein levels (Fig. 7b, d).
To determine whether the observed decrease in neogenin and UNC5A levels following netrin treatment was due to changes in gene transcription or protein degradation, we conducted quantitative RT-PCR on RNA from netrin-treated MIN6 cells. Netrin-1 or netrin-4 treatment, in 5 or 25 mmol/l glucose, did not affect neogenin or Unc5a mRNA (Fig. 7h, i), suggesting that netrins modulate receptor protein levels via degradation. This was consistent with the rapid decrease in neogenin protein upon netrin-1 treatment (ESM Fig. 3a, b).
Netrin treatment acutely induces Akt and ERK pro-survival signalling
The mechanism by which netrin reduces caspase-3 activation was further investigated by immunoblot. Akt and ERK were phosphorylated after 5 min of 15 nmol/l netrin-1 or netrin-4 in 25 mmol/l, but not in 5 mmol/l glucose (Fig. 8a–c). Netrin-1 (0.15 nmol/l) activated the Akt and ERK pathways under 5 mmol/l glucose. Following 60 min treatment with 15 nmol/l netrins, Akt phosphorylation remained significant and the stimulation of ERK phosphorylation was abolished (ESM Fig. 4a–c). Netrin treatment did not change the phosphorylation level of JNK1 (Fig. 8d, ESM Fig. 4d). However, under low glucose conditions netrin-4 treatment significantly upregulated ASK1-Thr845 phosphorylation, suggesting ASK1-dependent apoptosis (Fig. 8e).
Netrin-1 does not induce acute cAMP or Ca2+ signals
Netrin-1 has previously been found to induce cAMP- and ryanodine receptor-dependent Ca2+ signals in neurons [43]. To determine whether cAMP is important for netrin-1 signalling in beta cells, we conducted live cell imaging with a FRET-based cAMP probe (AKAR2). First, we validated AKAR2 function in MIN6 cells. Indeed, AKAR2 was diffusely cytoplasmic and exhibited rapid FRET changes upon perifusion with the cAMP-activating hormone glucagon-like peptide 1 or the adenylate cyclase-activating drug forskolin (ESM Fig. 5a, b). Treatment with 15 nmol/l netrin-1 for 30 min in a static bath resulted in only miniscule, delayed FRET signals (ESM Fig. 5c). Thus, rapid cAMP signalling may not be critical for acute netrin signalling in beta cells. We also examined intracellular Ca2+ using Fura-2 and found that netrin-1 had no effect in islet cells (ESM Fig. 5d) and MIN6 cells. Therefore, netrin-1 does not mediate its acute effects on beta cells through the same pathways that it employs to control axon growth cone turning.
Discussion
The identification of factors that protect islets and increase functional beta cell mass is a major research goal. Here, we employed an unbiased approach to catalogue 233 secreted factors and 234 receptors found in islets, many of them previously unappreciated. Our results also confirmed that several previously investigated candidate islet survival factors, such as hepatocyte growth factor and its receptor c-met [13, 44, 45] are found in islets. Urocortin 3 and nerve growth factor, along with their receptors, are other examples of autocrine islet survival factors [19, 46]. The identification of axonal guidance factors in islets, including netrins, was a surprising finding of our unbiased analysis. In addition to neuronal development, netrins have been implicated in mammary, lung and pancreas development [21, 24, 35, 36]. In the developing pancreas, netrins act as regulators of cell adhesion, migration and differentiation [21, 23, 24]. Netrins were thought to be absent in adult pancreatic islets [23, 24]. Our results show that all netrin genes are expressed in adult mouse islets. Netrin receptors (neogenin, UNC5A, UNC5B and UNC5C) were also found in adult mouse and human islets. Consistent with previous reports, DCC was not found in adult islets [23]. There appeared to be age-dependent changes in levels of netrins and their receptors. Islet expression of netrins and their receptors suggest that local autocrine or paracrine netrin signalling exists in adult islets. Additionally, the downregulation in neogenin protein as a result of netrin-1 overexpression further suggests existence of an autocrine signalling mechanism.
Hyperglycaemia-induced apoptosis is a complication of diabetes and probably plays a harmful role in islet transplantation. In the present study, we demonstrated that netrins significantly reduced caspase-3 activity in high glucose. This is consistent with the pro-survival effects of netrins in other cell types, including neuronal, gastrointestinal epithelial and mammary cells [25, 27, 36, 47, 48]. The glucose-dependence of caspase-3 activation mirrors the effects of blocking Notch signalling in adult islets [20]. Our investigation of the mechanisms involved in beta cell netrin signalling implicated neogenin and UNC5A. These receptors induce apoptosis in the absence of netrin and inhibit apoptosis when ligands are bound [40, 41]. Ligand-bound netrin receptors sequester caspase-3, preventing its activation [26]. The proteasome–ubiquitin system has been implicated in DCC downregulation by netrin-1 in embryonic neurons [42]; indeed, our results are consistent with degradation controlling beta cell netrin receptor levels. The proliferative effect of netrin-1 in vascular smooth muscle cells during angiogenesis is mediated through neogenin [39]. Perhaps the lack of proliferative response to netrin-1 treatment was due to the decrease in neogenin upon treatment with netrin-1.
Nerve growth cone guidance by netrin-1 is dependent on cytoplasmic Ca2+ influxes via plasma membrane channels and ryanodine receptors [49]. In our hands, exposure of islet cells to netrin-1 did not acutely induce intracellular Ca2+ signals. Whether netrin-1 signalling in neurons requires cAMP is controversial [43]. Under our experimental conditions, netrin-1-treated MIN6 cells did not generate robust cAMP responses. The cAMP fluctuations observed in some beta cells following longer exposure times to netrin-1 could have been caused by other paracrine factors in this static milieu.
In summary, we determined that a large number of paracrine signalling loops are present in adult human and rodent islets. Examination of these genes is likely to reveal that many more factors influence islet survival and growth, both positively and negatively. We focused on the detailed mechanisms and function of netrins, which had not been previously described in normal adult islets. We demonstrated that netrins regulate caspase-3 activation in a glucose-dependent manner, via a mechanism involving their dependence receptors, neogenin and UNC5A, as well as upregulation of Akt and ERK pro-survival signalling. Our results lay the ground-work to allow exploitation of local autocrine and/or paracrine survival signalling for therapeutic purposes.
Abbreviations
- Akt:
-
v-Akt murine thymoma viral oncogene homologue
- ASK1:
-
Apoptosis signal-regulating kinase 1
- DCC:
-
Deleted in colon cancer
- ERK:
-
Extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase
- FRET:
-
Fluorescence resonance energy transfer
- JNK:
-
c-Jun N-terminal kinase 1
- UNC5:
-
Unc-5 homologue
References
Chiang MK, Melton DA (2003) Single-cell transcript analysis of pancreas development. Dev Cell 4:383–393
Yada T, Sakurada M, Ishihara H et al (1997) Pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide (PACAP) is an islet substance serving as an intra-islet amplifier of glucose-induced insulin secretion in rats. J Physiol 505:319–328
Tsuda H, Iwase T, Matsumoto K et al (1992) Immunohistochemical localization of hepatocyte growth factor protein in pancreas islet A-cells of man and rats. Jpn J Cancer Res 83:1262–1266
Johnson JD, Bernal-Mizrachi E, Alejandro EU et al (2006) Insulin protects islets from apoptosis via Pdx1 and specific changes in the human islet proteome. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 103:19575–19580
Beith JL, Alejandro EU, Johnson JD (2008) Insulin stimulates primary beta-cell proliferation via Raf-1 kinase. Endocrinology 149:2251–2260
Okada T, Liew CW, Hu J et al (2007) Insulin receptors in beta-cells are critical for islet compensatory growth response to insulin resistance. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 104:8977–8982
Wideman RD, Yu IL, Webber TD et al (2006) Improving function and survival of pancreatic islets by endogenous production of glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1). Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 103:13468–13473
Fujita Y, Wideman RD, Asadi A et al (2010) Glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide is expressed in pancreatic islet alpha-cells and promotes insulin secretion. Gastroenterology 138:1966–1975
Widenmaier SB, Kim SJ, Yang GK et al (2010) A GIP receptor agonist exhibits beta-cell anti-apoptotic actions in rat models of diabetes resulting in improved beta-cell function and glycemic control. PLoS One 5:e9590
Fujinaka Y, Takane K, Yamashita H, Vasavada RC (2007) Lactogens promote beta cell survival through JAK2/STAT5 activation and Bcl-XL upregulation. J Biol Chem 282:30707–30717
Sekine N, Wollheim CB, Fujita T (1998) GH signalling in pancreatic beta-cells. Endocr J 45(Suppl):S33–S40
Vasavada RC, Gonzalez-Pertusa JA, Fujinaka Y, Fiaschi-Taesch N, Cozar-Castellano I, Garcia-Ocana A (2006) Growth factors and beta cell replication. Int J Biochem Cell Biol 38:931–950
Beattie GM, Rubin JS, Mally MI, Otonkoski T, Hayek A (1996) Regulation of proliferation and differentiation of human fetal pancreatic islet cells by extracellular matrix, hepatocyte growth factor, and cell–cell contact. Diabetes 45:1223–1228
Cebrian A, Garcia-Ocana A, Takane KK, Sipula D, Stewart AF, Vasavada RC (2002) Overexpression of parathyroid hormone-related protein inhibits pancreatic beta-cell death in vivo and in vitro. Diabetes 51:3003–3013
Yamamoto K, Miyagawa J, Waguri M et al (2000) Recombinant human betacellulin promotes the neogenesis of beta-cells and ameliorates glucose intolerance in mice with diabetes induced by selective alloxan perfusion. Diabetes 49:2021–2027
Szabat M, Johnson JD, Piret JM (2010) Reciprocal modulation of adult beta cell maturity by activin A and follistatin. Diabetologia 53:1680–1689
Goulley J, Dahl U, Baeza N, Mishina Y, Edlund H (2007) BMP4-BMPR1A signaling in beta cells is required for and augments glucose-stimulated insulin secretion. Cell Metab 5:207–219
Yamamoto K, Hashimoto H, Tomimoto S et al (2003) Overexpression of PACAP in transgenic mouse pancreatic beta-cells enhances insulin secretion and ameliorates streptozotocin-induced diabetes. Diabetes 52:1155–1162
Rosenbaum T, Vidaltamayo R, Sanchez-Soto MC, Zentella A, Hiriart M (1998) Pancreatic beta cells synthesize and secrete nerve growth factor. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 95:7784–7788
Dror V, Nguyen V, Walia P, Kalynyak TB, Hill JA, Johnson JD (2007) Notch signalling suppresses apoptosis in adult human and mouse pancreatic islet cells. Diabetologia 50:2504–2515
Cirulli V, Yebra M (2007) Netrins: beyond the brain. Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol 8:296–306
Chilton JK (2006) Molecular mechanisms of axon guidance. Dev Biol 292:13–24
De Breuck S, Lardon J, Rooman I, Bouwens L (2003) Netrin-1 expression in fetal and regenerating rat pancreas and its effect on the migration of human pancreatic duct and porcine islet precursor cells. Diabetologia 46:926–933
Yebra M, Montgomery AM, Diaferia GR et al (2003) Recognition of the neural chemoattractant netrin-1 by integrins alpha6beta4 and alpha3beta1 regulates epithelial cell adhesion and migration. Dev Cell 5:695–707
Tang X, Jang SW, Okada M et al (2008) Netrin-1 mediates neuronal survival through PIKE-L interaction with the dependence receptor UNC5B. Nat Cell Biol 10:698–706
Forcet C, Ye X, Granger L et al (2001) The dependence receptor DCC (deleted in colorectal cancer) defines an alternative mechanism for caspase activation. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 98:3416–3421
Llambi F, Causeret F, Bloch-Gallego E, Mehlen P (2001) Netrin-1 acts as a survival factor via its receptors UNC5H and DCC. EMBO J 20:2715–2722
Wang W, Reeves WB, Ramesh G (2009) Netrin-1 increases proliferation and migration of renal proximal tubular epithelial cells via the UNC5B receptor. Am J Physiol Renal Physiol 296:F723–F729
Kutlu B, Burdick D, Baxter D et al (2009) Detailed transcriptome atlas of the pancreatic beta cell. BMC Med Genomics 2:3
Hoffman BG, Robertson G, Zavaglia B et al (2010) Locus co-occupancy, nucleosome positioning, and H3K4me1 regulate the functionality of FOXA2-, HNF4A-, and PDX1-bound loci in islets and liver. Genome Res 20:1037–1051
Morrissy AS, Morin RD, Delaney A et al (2009) Next-generation tag sequencing for cancer gene expression profiling. Genome Res 19:1825–1835
Szabat M, Luciani DS, Piret JM, Johnson JD (2009) Maturation of adult beta-cells revealed using a Pdx1/insulin dual-reporter lentivirus. Endocrinology 150:1627–1635
Hulbert EM, Smink LJ, Adlem EC et al (2007) T1DBase: integration and presentation of complex data for type 1 diabetes research. Nucleic Acids Res 35:D742–D746
Zhang J, Hupfeld CJ, Taylor SS, Olefsky JM, Tsien RY (2005) Insulin disrupts beta-adrenergic signalling to protein kinase A in adipocytes. Nature 437:569–573
Liu Y, Stein E, Oliver T et al (2004) Novel role for netrins in regulating epithelial behavior during lung branching morphogenesis. Curr Biol 14:897–905
Srinivasan K, Strickland P, Valdes A, Shin GC, Hinck L (2003) Netrin-1/neogenin interaction stabilizes multipotent progenitor cap cells during mammary gland morphogenesis. Dev Cell 4:371–382
Zhang C, Meng F, Wang C et al (2004) Identification of a novel alternative splicing form of human netrin-4 and analyzing the expression patterns in adult rat brain. Brain Res Mol Brain Res 130:68–80
Lee HK, Seo IA, Seo E, Seo SY, Lee HJ, Park HT (2007) Netrin-1 induces proliferation of Schwann cells through Unc5b receptor. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 362:1057–1062
Park KW, Crouse D, Lee M et al (2004) The axonal attractant netrin-1 is an angiogenic factor. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 101:16210–16215
Delloye-Bourgeois C, Fitamant J, Paradisi A et al (2009) Netrin-1 acts as a survival factor for aggressive neuroblastoma. J Exp Med 206:833–847
Matsunaga E, Tauszig-Delamasure S, Monnier PP et al (2004) RGM and its receptor neogenin regulate neuronal survival. Nat Cell Biol 6:749–755
Kim TH, Lee HK, Seo IA et al (2005) Netrin induces down-regulation of its receptor, Deleted in Colorectal Cancer, through the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway in the embryonic cortical neuron. J Neurochem 95:1–8
Ming GL, Song HJ, Berninger B, Holt CE, Tessier-Lavigne M, Poo MM (1997) cAMP-dependent growth cone guidance by netrin-1. Neuron 19:1225–1235
Garcia-Ocana A, Vasavada RC, Cebrian A et al (2001) Transgenic overexpression of hepatocyte growth factor in the beta-cell markedly improves islet function and islet transplant outcomes in mice. Diabetes 50:2752–2762
Otonkoski T, Cirulli V, Beattie M et al (1996) A role for hepatocyte growth factor/scatter factor in fetal mesenchyme-induced pancreatic beta-cell growth. Endocrinology 137:3131–3139
Li C, Chen P, Vaughan J, Lee KF, Vale W (2007) Urocortin 3 regulates glucose-stimulated insulin secretion and energy homeostasis. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 104:4206–4211
Mazelin L, Bernet A, Bonod-Bidaud C et al (2004) Netrin-1 controls colorectal tumorigenesis by regulating apoptosis. Nature 431:80–84
Furne C, Rama N, Corset V, Chedotal A, Mehlen P (2008) Netrin-1 is a survival factor during commissural neuron navigation. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 105:14465–14470
Hong K, Nishiyama M, Henley J, Tessier-Lavigne M, Poo M (2000) Calcium signalling in the guidance of nerve growth by netrin-1. Nature 403:93–98
Acknowledgements
We thank R. Tsien for the AKAR2 cAMP FRET sensor and G. Warnock (Centre for Human Islet Transplantation and Beta-cell Regeneration) for access to human islets and pancreas. We also thank B. Hu, T. Kalynyak, T. Albrecht and C. Der for technical assistance, and E. U. Alejandro, D. S. Luciani and K. Y. Chu for helpful advice and discussions. The research was supported by grants from the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) and the Stem Cell Network. J. D. Johnson was also supported by salary awards from JDRF, the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research, the Canadian Institutes for Health Research and the Canadian Diabetes Association. Y. H. C. Yang. received scholarships from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council and the University of British Columbia Four Year Fellowship.
Duality of interest
The authors declare that there is no duality of interest associated with this manuscript.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Electronic supplementary material
Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.
ESM Table 1
Mouse islet Taq-sequencing library (XLS 714 kb)
ESM Table 2
RT-PCR primer sequences (PDF 136 kb)
ESM Table 3
Secreted factors (PDF 254 kb)
ESM Table 4
Secreted factor receptors (PDF 219 kb)
ESM Fig. 1
Netrin-1 treatment decreases caspase-3 cleavage in primary mouse islets. Following overnight serum starvation, 95 hand-picked C57/BL6 mouse islets were treated for 72 h with 0 or 15 nmol/l of netrin-1 in RPMI medium supplemented with 25 mmol/l glucose. Levels of cleaved caspase-3 were detected by Western blotting and quantified by densitometry as percentage of β-actin levels. Values are plotted as mean ± SEM (n = 3) (PDF 95 kb)
ESM Fig. 2
Effect of netrin-1 on the level of caspase-3 cleavage in MIN6 cells. Protein levels of cleaved caspase-3, normalised to β-actin, were detected by Western blotting in MIN6 cells treated for 5 min (a) and 60 min (b) with netrin-1 in DMEM medium supplemented with 5 mmol/l or 25 mmol/l glucose. The results are mean ± SEM (n = 4). # p < 0.05 compared with 25 mmol/l glucose control; & p < 0.05 compared with 5 mmol/l glucose of the same treatment (PDF 84 kb)
ESM Fig. 3
Effect of netrin-1 on level of neogenin. Levels of neogenin, normalised to β-actin, were detected by Western blotting in MIN6 cells treated for 5 min (a) and 60 min (b) with netrin-1 in DMEM medium supplemented with 5 mmol/l or 25 mmol/l glucose. The results are mean ± SEM (n = 3). # p < 0.05 compared with 25 mmol/l glucose control (PDF 84 kb)
ESM Fig. 4
Netrins can activate Akt and ERK pro-survival signalling in MIN6 cells. The phosphorylation level of Akt-Ser473 (a), Akt-Thr308 (b), ERK1/2-Thr202/Tyr204 (c) and JNK1-Thr183 (d) were detected by Western blotting in MIN6 cells treated with netrin-1 or netrin-4 for 60 min (n = 7–12). *p < 0.05 compared with 5 mmol/l glucose serum free control; # p < 0.05 compared with 25 mmol/l glucose serum-free control; & p < 0.05 compared with 5 mmol/l glucose of same treatment (PDF 196 kb)
ESM Fig. 5
Netrin-1 does not induce acute intracellular cAMP and Ca2+ signals in beta cells. a MIN6 cells transfected with AKAR2 cAMP FRET sensor. Scale bar 10 μm. b Representative trace of AKAR2-transfected MIN6 cell following perifusion with 3 mmol/l glucose Ringer’s buffer containing cAMP-activating hormone GLP-1 or the adenylate-cyclase-activating drug forskolin. c MIN6 cells were exposed to a static bath of 3 mmol/l glucose Ringer’s supplemented with 15 nmol/l netrin-1 and the changes in intracellular cAMP levels were monitored using the AKAR2 FRET probe. Signals from four representative cells are displayed. Forskolin (10 μmol/l) was the positive control. d Dispersed mouse islet cells were loaded with Fura-2-AM and exposed to a static bath of 3 mmol/l glucose Ringer’s supplemented with 15 nmol/l netrin-1 and the changes in intracellular Ca2+ levels were monitored. Signals from seven representative cells are displayed (PDF 537 kb)
ESM 1
(PDF 68 kb)
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Yang, Y.H.C., Szabat, M., Bragagnini, C. et al. Paracrine signalling loops in adult human and mouse pancreatic islets: netrins modulate beta cell apoptosis signalling via dependence receptors. Diabetologia 54, 828–842 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00125-010-2012-5
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00125-010-2012-5