Protective unfolded protein response in human pancreatic beta cells transplanted into mice

Islet transplantation exposes beta cells to mild hyperglycemia and to the abnormal environment of the transplant site. These conditions may affect beta cells and induce the expression of genes involved in beta cell damage. Gene expression profile of human beta cells exposed to mild hyperglycemia by transplantation into ICR-SCID mice was evaluated and compared with the gene profile of beta cells obtained from non-diabetic subjects. We found that the transplanted beta cells showed an unfolded protein response (UPR). There was upregulation of many genes of the IRE-1 pathway that provide protection against the deleterious effects of ER stress. Among them, increased expression of genes coding XBP-1; the chaperone proteins PDIA4, Bip, and Grp94; and the ER degradation proteins EDEM1 and EDEM2. ERdj4 and DNA-JC3 were also upregulated. JUK had downregulated expression. The PERK and ATF-6 arms of the ER stress response had many downregulated genes in transplanted islets. The PERK's substrates, EIF2A and NRF2, showed markedly reduced expression, as downregulated was the expression of CReP. Other downregulated genes included HERP2, IRS-2, CHOP and C/EBP-beta. In the transplanted beta cells there was significantly decreased expression of ATF-6, as well as the downstream gene products CHOP and HERP2. There was increased expression of HRD1, which exerts an antiapoptotic effect by degrading unfolded proteins. In conclusion human beta cells in a transplant site had UPR changes in gene expression that protect against the proapoptotic effects of unfolded proteins. Frozen sections were obtained from pancreases of non-diabetic subjects at surgery and from human islets transplanted into ICR-SCID mice for 4 weeks. β cell enriched samples were obtained by laser capture microdissection. RNA was extracted, amplified and subjected to microarray analysis.