GDF15 Plays a Critical Role In Insulin Secretion and Type 2 Diabetes
Scientists have identified a critical role of GDF15 gene in regulating insulin secretion and the development of diabetes mellitus. The research team led by Dr. Jalal Taneera from Sharjah institute for medical research at University of Sharjah in UAE published their finding in the Journal Experimental Biology and Medicine.
The study on at first described the expression of GDF15 in human pancreatic islets with/without diabetes using RNA-seq expression data and explored for T2D-associated genetic variants in the GDF15 using the TIGER portal. Several functional studies including gain and lose of function were performed to dissect the functional role of GDF15 in human islets and clonal INS-1.
Dr. Jalal Taneera, says: “Islets obtained from diabetic donors showed high levels of GDF15 compared to normal donors islets and that expression was correlates positively with the expression of insulin (INS), KCNJ11, GLUT1 and MAFA. Although , we could not find T2D-associated genetic variants in the GDF15. Expression silencing or overexpression of GDF15 altered insulin release. These findings suggest that GDF15 plays a significant role in pancreatic β-cell function. Additionally, one of the strengths of our study is that we have been able combined bioinformatics analysis with functional validation in particular human pancreatic islets.”
Dr. Taneera adds that diabetes is a growing global public health problem, and we urgently need to find new ways to treat the disease. Therefore, our fining may pave the way for future treatments where we restore GDF15 levels in certain group of patients. Article: GDF15 plays a critical role in insulin secretion in INS-1 cells and human pancreatic islets. Mohammad G Mohammad, Rania Saeed , Abdul Khader Mohammed , Anila Khalique , Mohamad Hamad , Waseem El-Huneidi, Mawieh Hamad, Jalal Taneera.
PMID: 36740767
DOI: 10.1177/15353702221146552.