High-fat diet impacts more changes in beta-cell compared to alpha-cell transcriptome

Characterization of endocrine-cell functions and associated molecular signatures in diabetes is crucial to better understand why and by which mechanisms alpha and beta cells cause and perpetuate metabolic abnormalities. The now recognized role of glucagon in diabetes control is a major incentive to have a better understanding of dysfunctional alpha cells. To characterize molecular alterations of alpha cells in diabetes, we analyzed alpha-cell transcriptome from control and diabetic mice using diet-induced obesity model. To this aim, we quantified the expression levels of total mRNAs from sorted alpha and beta cells of low-fat and high-fat diet-treated mice through RNAseq experiments, using a transgenic mouse strain allowing collections of pancreatic alpha- and beta-cells after 16 weeks of diet. We now report that pancreatic alpha cells from obese hyperglycemic mice displayed minor variations of their transcriptome compared to controls. Depending on analyses, we identified 11 to 39 differentially expressed genes including non-alpha cell markers mainly due to minor cell contamination during purification process. From these analyses, we identified three new target genes altered in diabetic alpha cells and potently involved in cellular stress and exocytosis (Upk3a, Adcy1 and Dpp6). By contrast, analysis of the beta-cell transcriptome from control and diabetic mice revealed major alterations of specific genes coding for proteins involved in proliferation and secretion. We conclude that alpha cell transcriptome is less reactive to HFD diet compared to beta cells and display adaptations to cellular stress and exocytosis.