Étude de l'implication des navettes du pyruvate découlant du métabolisme mitochondrial du glucose dans la régulation de la sécrétion d'insuline par les cellules bêta pancréatiques

Le diabète est une maladie métabolique qui se caractérise par une résistance à l’insuline des tissus périphériques et par une incapacité des cellules β pancréatiques à sécréter les niveaux d’insuline appropriés afin de compenser pour cette résistance. Pour mieux comprendre les mécanismes déficients dans les cellules β des patients diabétiques, il est nécessaire de comprendre et de définir les mécanismes impliqués dans le contrôle de la sécrétion d’insuline en réponse au glucose. Dans les cellules β pancréatiques, le métabolisme du glucose conduit à la production de facteurs de couplage métabolique, comme l’ATP, nécessaires à la régulation de l’exocytose des vésicules d’insuline. Le mécanisme par lequel la production de l’ATP par le métabolisme oxydatif du glucose déclenche l’exocytose des vésicules d’insuline est bien décrit dans la littérature. Cependant, il ne peut à lui seul réguler adéquatement la sécrétion d’insuline. Le malonyl-CoA et le NADPH sont deux autres facteurs de couplage métaboliques qui ont été suggérés afin de relier le métabolisme du glucose à la régulation de la sécrétion d’insuline. Les mécanismes impliqués demeurent cependant à être caractérisés. Le but de la présente thèse était de déterminer l’implication des navettes du pyruvate, découlant du métabolisme mitochondrial du glucose, dans la régulation de la sécrétion d’insuline. Dans les cellules β, les navettes du pyruvate découlent de la combinaison des processus d’anaplérose et de cataplérose et permettent la transduction des signaux métaboliques provenant du métabolisme du glucose. Dans une première étude, nous nous sommes intéressés au rôle de la navette pyruvate/citrate dans la régulation de la sécrétion d’insuline en réponse au glucose, puisque cette navette conduit à la production dans le cytoplasme de deux facteurs de couplage métabolique, soit le malonyl-CoA et le NADPH. De plus, la navette pyruvate/citrate favorise le flux métabolique à travers la glycolyse en réoxydation le NADH. Une étude effectuée précédemment dans notre laboratoire avait suggéré la présence de cette navette dans les cellules β pancréatique. Afin de tester notre hypothèse, nous avons ciblé trois étapes de cette navette dans la lignée cellulaire β pancréatique INS 832/13, soit la sortie du citrate de la mitochondrie et l’activité de l’ATP-citrate lyase (ACL) et l’enzyme malique (MEc), deux enzymes clés de la navette pyruvate/citrate. L’inhibition de chacune de ces étapes par l’utilisation d’un inhibiteur pharmacologique ou de la technologie des ARN interférant a corrélé avec une réduction significative de la sécrétion d’insuline en réponse au glucose. Les résultats obtenus suggèrent que la navette pyruvate/citrate joue un rôle critique dans la régulation de la sécrétion d’insuline en réponse au glucose. Parallèlement à notre étude, deux autres groupes de recherche ont suggéré que les navettes pyruvate/malate et pyruvate/isocitrate/α-cétoglutarate étaient aussi importantes pour la sécrétion d’insuline en réponse au glucose. Ainsi, trois navettes découlant du métabolisme mitochondrial du glucose pourraient être impliquées dans le contrôle de la sécrétion d’insuline. Le point commun de ces trois navettes est la production dans le cytoplasme du NADPH, un facteur de couplage métabolique possiblement très important pour la sécrétion d’insuline. Dans les navettes pyruvate/malate et pyruvate/citrate, le NADPH est formé par MEc, alors que l’isocitrate déshydrogénase (IDHc) est responsable de la production du NADPH dans la navette pyruvate/isocitrate/α-cétoglutarate. Dans notre première étude, nous avions démontré l’importance de l’expression de ME pour la sécrétion adéquate d’insuline en réponse au glucose. Dans notre deuxième étude, nous avons testé l’implication de IDHc dans les mécanismes de régulation de la sécrétion d’insuline en réponse au glucose. La diminution de l’expression de IDHc dans les INS 832/13 a stimulé la sécrétion d’insuline en réponse au glucose par un mécanisme indépendant de la production de l’ATP par le métabolisme oxydatif du glucose. Ce résultat a ensuite été confirmé dans les cellules dispersées des îlots pancréatiques de rat. Nous avons aussi observé dans notre modèle que l’incorporation du glucose en acides gras était augmentée, suggérant que la diminution de l’activité de IDHc favorise la redirection du métabolisme de l’isocitrate à travers la navette pyruvate/citrate. Un mécanisme de compensation à travers la navette pyruvate/citrate pourrait ainsi expliquer la stimulation de la sécrétion d’insuline observée en réponse à la diminution de l’expression de IDHc. Les travaux effectués dans cette deuxième étude remettent en question l’implication de l’activité de IDHc, et de la navette pyruvate/isocitrate/α-cétoglutarate, dans la transduction des signaux métaboliques reliant le métabolisme du glucose à la sécrétion d’insuline. La navette pyruvate/citrate est la seule des navettes du pyruvate à conduire à la production du malonyl-CoA dans le cytoplasme des cellules β. Le malonyl-CoA régule le métabolisme des acides gras en inhibant la carnitine palmitoyl transférase 1, l’enzyme limitante dans l’oxydation des acides gras. Ainsi, l’élévation des niveaux de malonyl-CoA en réponse au glucose entraîne une redirection du métabolisme des acides gras vers les processus d’estérification puis de lipolyse. Plus précisément, les acides gras sont métabolisés à travers le cycle des triglycérides/acides gras libres (qui combinent les voies métaboliques d’estérification et de lipolyse), afin de produire des molécules lipidiques signalétiques nécessaires à la modulation de la sécrétion d’insuline. Des études effectuées précédemment dans notre laboratoire ont démontré que l’activité lipolytique de HSL (de l’anglais hormone-sensitive lipase) était importante, mais non suffisante, pour la régulation de la sécrétion d’insuline. Dans une étude complémentaire, nous nous sommes intéressés au rôle d’une autre lipase, soit ATGL (de l’anglais adipose triglyceride lipase), dans la régulation de la sécrétion d’insuline en réponse au glucose et aux acides gras. Nous avons démontré que ATGL est exprimé dans les cellules β pancréatiques et que son activité contribue significativement à la lipolyse. Une réduction de son expression dans les cellules INS 832/13 par RNA interférant ou son absence dans les îlots pancréatiques de souris déficientes en ATGL a conduit à une réduction de la sécrétion d’insuline en réponse au glucose en présence ou en absence d’acides gras. Ces résultats appuient l’hypothèse que la lipolyse est une composante importante de la régulation de la sécrétion d’insuline dans les cellules β pancréatiques. En conclusion, les résultats obtenus dans cette thèse suggèrent que la navette pyruvate/citrate est importante pour la régulation de la sécrétion d’insuline en réponse au glucose. Ce mécanisme impliquerait la production du NADPH et du malonyl-CoA dans le cytoplasme en fonction du métabolisme du glucose. Cependant, nos travaux remettent en question l’implication de la navette pyruvate/isocitrate/α-cétoglutarate dans la régulation de la sécrétion d’insuline. Le rôle exact de IDHc dans ce processus demeure cependant à être déterminé. Finalement, nos travaux ont aussi démontré un rôle pour ATGL et la lipolyse dans les mécanismes de couplage métabolique régulant la sécrétion d’insuline.Diabetes is a metabolic disorder characterized by a combination of insulin resistance in peripheral tissues with an inappropriate amount of insulin secreted by the pancreatic β-cells to overcome this insulin resistance. In order to help find a cure for diabetic patients, we need to elucidate the mechanisms underlying the proper control of insulin secretion in response to glucose. In pancreatic β-cells, glucose metabolism leads to the production of metabolic coupling factors, like ATP, implicated in the regulation of insulin vesicle exocytosis. The mechanism linking ATP production by the oxidative metabolism of glucose to the triggering of insulin release that involves Ca2+ and metabolically sensitive K+ channels is relatively well known. Other mechanisms are also involved in the regulation of insulin secretion in response to glucose and other nutrients, such as fatty acids and some amino acids. Malonyl-CoA and NADPH are two metabolic coupling factors that have been suggested to be implicated in the transduction of metabolic signaling coming from glucose metabolism to control the release of insulin granules. However, the mechanisms implicated remained to be defined. The goal of the present thesis was to further our understanding of the role of the pyruvate shuttles, derived from mitochondrial glucose metabolism, in the regulation of insulin secretion. In pancreatic β-cells, pyruvate shuttles are produced by the combination of anaplerosis and cataplerosis processes and are thought to link glucose metabolism to the regulation of insulin secretion by the production metabolic coupling factors. In our first study, we wished to determine the role of the pyruvate/citrate shuttle in the regulation of glucose-induced insulin secretion. The pyruvate/citrate shuttle leads to the production in the cytoplasm of both malonyl-CoA and NADPH and also stimulates the metabolic flux through the glycolysis by re-oxidating NADH. A previous study done in the group of Dr Prentki has suggested the feasibility of the pyruvate/citrate shuttle in pancreatic β-cells. To investigate our hypothesis, we inhibited three different steps of this shuttle in INS 832/13 cells, a pancreatic β-cell line. Specifically, we repressed, using pharmacological inhibitors or RNA interference technology, the mitochondrial citrate export to the cytoplasm and the expression of malic enzyme (MEc) and ATP-citrate lyase (ACL), two key enzymes implicated in the pyruvate/citrate shuttle. The inhibition of each of those steps resulted in a reduction of glucose-induced insulin secretion. Our results underscore the importance of the pyruvate/citrate shuttle in the pancreatic β-cell signaling and the regulation of insulin secretion in response to glucose. Other research groups are also interested in studying the implication of pyruvate cycling processes in the regulation of insulin exocytosis. They suggested a role for the pyruvate/malate and the pyruvate/isocitrate/α-ketoglutarate shuttles. Therefore, three different shuttles derived from the mitochondrial glucose metabolism could be implicated in the regulation of glucose-induced insulin release. All those three shuttles can produce NADPH in the cytoplasm. In the pyruvate/malate and the pyruvate/citrate shuttles, the NADPH is formed by cytosolic malic enzyme (MEc), whereas in the pyruvate/isocitrate/α-ketoglutarate, NADPH is produced by cytosolic isocitrate dehydrogenease (IDHc). In our first study, we established the importance of MEc expression in the regulation of insulin secretion. In our second study, we wanted to investigate the importance of IDHc expression in glucose-induced insulin secretion. The reduction of IDHc expression in INS 832/13 cells stimulated insulin release in response to glucose by a mechanism independent of ATP production coming from glucose oxidative metabolism. This stimulation was also observed in isolated rat pancreatic cells. IDHc knockdown cells showed elevated glucose incorporation into fatty acids, suggesting that isocitrate metabolism could be redirected into the pyruvate/citrate shuttle in these cells. Taken together, these results suggest that IDHc is not essential for glucose-induced insulin secretion and that a compensatory mechanism, probably involving the pyruvate/citrate shuttle, explains the enhanced insulin secretion in IDHc knockdown cells . The pyruvate/citrate shuttle is the only pyruvate shuttle that is linked to the production of malonyl-CoA. Malonyl-CoA is a known inhibitor of carnitine palmitoyl transferase 1, the rate-limiting step in fatty acid oxidation. Therefore, the raising level of malonyl-CoA in response to glucose redirects the metabolism of fatty acids into the triglycerides/free fatty acids cycle which combine esterification and lipolysis processes. Previous studies done in the laboratory of Dr Prentki supported the concept that lipolysis of endogenous lipid stores is an important process for the appropriate regulation of insulin secretion. A first lipase, hormone-sensitive lipase (HSL), has been identified in pancreatic β-cells. HSL expression is important, but not sufficient, for the β-cell lipolysis activity. In a complementary study, we have investigated the role of another lipase, adipose triglyceride lipase (ATGL), in the regulation of insulin secretion in response to glucose and to fatty acids. We first demonstrated the expression and the activity of ATGL in pancreatic β-cells. Reducing ATGL expression using shRNA in INS 832/13 cells caused a reduction in insulin secretion in response to glucose and to fatty acids. Pancreatic islets from ATGL null mice also showed defect in insulin release in response to glucose and to fatty acids. The results demonstrate the importance of ATGL and intracellular lipid signaling in the regulation of insulin secretion. In conclusion, the work presented in this thesis suggests a role for the pyruvate/citrate shuttle in the regulation of insulin secretion in response to glucose. This mechanism possibly implicates the production of NADPH and malonyl-CoA in the cytoplasm. The results also points to a re-evaluation of the role of IDHc in glucose-induced insulin secretion. The precise role of IDHc in pancreatic β-cells needs to be determined. Finally, the data have also documented a role of lipolysis and ATGL in the coupling mechanisms of insulin secretion in response to both fuel and non-fuel stimuli

Identification of particular groups of microRNAs that positively or negatively impact on beta cell function in obese models of type 2 diabetes

Aims/hypothesis: MicroRNAs are key regulators of gene expression involved in health and disease. The goal of our study was to investigate the global changes in beta cell microRNA expression occurring in two models of obesity-associated type 2 diabetes and to assess their potential contribution to the development of the disease. Methods: MicroRNA profiling of pancreatic islets isolated from prediabetic and diabetic db/db mice and from mice fed a high-fat diet was performed by microarray. The functional impact of the changes in microRNA expression was assessed by reproducing them in vitro in primary rat and human beta cells. Results: MicroRNAs differentially expressed in both models of obesity-associated type 2 diabetes fall into two distinct categories. A group including miR-132, miR-184 and miR-338-3p displays expression changes occurring long before the onset of diabetes. Functional studies indicate that these expression changes have positive effects on beta cell activities and mass. In contrast, modifications in the levels of miR-34a, miR-146a, miR-199a-3p, miR-203, miR-210 and miR-383 primarily occur in diabetic mice and result in increased beta cell apoptosis. These results indicate that obesity and insulin resistance trigger adaptations in the levels of particular microRNAs to allow sustained beta cell function, and that additional microRNA deregulation negatively impacting on insulin-secreting cells may cause beta cell demise and diabetes manifestation. Conclusions/interpretation: We propose that maintenance of blood glucose homeostasis or progression toward glucose intolerance and type 2 diabetes may be determined by the balance between expression changes of particular microRNA

Circulating microRNAs as novel biomarkers for diabetes mellitus.

Diabetes mellitus is characterized by insulin secretion from pancreatic β cells that is insufficient to maintain blood glucose homeostasis. Autoimmune destruction of β cells results in type 1 diabetes mellitus, whereas conditions that reduce insulin sensitivity and negatively affect β-cell activities result in type 2 diabetes mellitus. Without proper management, patients with diabetes mellitus develop serious complications that reduce their quality of life and life expectancy. Biomarkers for early detection of the disease and identification of individuals at risk of developing complications would greatly improve the care of these patients. Small non-coding RNAs called microRNAs (miRNAs) control gene expression and participate in many physiopathological processes. Hundreds of miRNAs are actively or passively released in the circulation and can be used to evaluate health status and disease progression. Both type 1 diabetes mellitus and type 2 diabetes mellitus are associated with distinct modifications in the profile of miRNAs in the blood, which are sometimes detectable several years before the disease manifests. Moreover, circulating levels of certain miRNAs seem to be predictive of long-term complications. Technical and scientific obstacles still exist that need to be overcome, but circulating miRNAs might soon become part of the diagnostic arsenal to identify individuals at risk of developing diabetes mellitus and its devastating complications

New emerging tasks for microRNAs in the control of β-cell activities

MicroRNAs are key regulators of β-cell physiology. They participate to the differentiation of insulin-producing cells and are instrumental for the acquisition of their unique secretory properties. Moreover, they contribute to the adaptation of β-cells to conditions of increased insulin demand and, if expressed at inappropriate levels, certain microRNAs cause β-cell dysfunction and promote the development of different forms of diabetes mellitus. While these functions are increasingly better understood, additional tasks for these small non-coding RNAs have been recently unveiled. Thus, microRNAs are emerging as signaling molecules of a novel exosome-mediated cell-to-cell communication mode permitting a coordinated response of the β-cells to inflammatory conditions and to modifications in the insulin demand. These discoveries raise a number of important issues that once addressed promise to shed new light on the molecular mechanism governing the functions of the β-cells under normal and disease states. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: MicroRNAs and lipid/energy metabolism and related diseases edited by Carlos Fernández-Hernando and Yajaira Suárez

Role of islet microRNAs in diabetes: which model for which question?

MicroRNAs are important regulators of gene expression. The vast majority of the cells in our body rely on hundreds of these tiny non-coding RNA molecules to precisely adjust their protein repertoire and faithfully accomplish their tasks. Indeed, alterations in the microRNA profile can lead to cellular dysfunction that favours the appearance of several diseases. A specific set of microRNAs plays a crucial role in pancreatic beta cell differentiation and is essential for the fine-tuning of insulin secretion and for compensatory beta cell mass expansion in response to insulin resistance. Recently, several independent studies reported alterations in microRNA levels in the islets of animal models of diabetes and in islets isolated from diabetic patients. Surprisingly, many of the changes in microRNA expression observed in animal models of diabetes were not detected in the islets of diabetic patients and vice versa. These findings are unlikely to merely reflect species differences because microRNAs are highly conserved in mammals. These puzzling results are most probably explained by fundamental differences in the experimental approaches which selectively highlight the microRNAs directly contributing to diabetes development, the microRNAs predisposing individuals to the disease or the microRNAs displaying expression changes subsequent to the development of diabetes. In this review we will highlight the suitability of the different models for addressing each of these questions and propose future strategies that should allow us to obtain a better understanding of the contribution of microRNAs to the development of diabetes mellitus in humans

A role for cytosolic isocitrate dehydrogenase as a negative regulator of glucose signaling for insulin secretion in pancreatic ß-cells

Cytosolic NADPH may act as one of the signals that couple glucose metabolism to insulin secretion in the pancreatic ß-cell. NADPH levels in the cytoplasm are largely controlled by the cytosolic isoforms of malic enzyme and isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDHc). Some studies have provided evidence for a role of malic enzyme in glucose-induced insulin secretion (GIIS) via pyruvate cycling, but the role of IDHc in ß-cell signaling is unsettled. IDHc is an established component of the isocitrate/α-ketoglutarate shuttle that transfers reducing equivalents (NADPH) from the mitochondrion to the cytosol. This shuttle is energy consuming since it is coupled to nicotinamide nucleotide transhydrogenase that uses the mitochondrial proton gradient to produce mitochondrial NADPH and NAD(+) from NADP(+) and NADH. To determine whether flux through IDHc is positively or negatively linked to GIIS, we performed RNAi knockdown experiments in ß-cells. Reduced IDHc expression in INS 832/13 cells and isolated rat islet ß-cells resulted in enhanced GIIS. This effect was mediated at least in part via the KATP-independent amplification arm of GIIS. IDHc knockdown in INS 832/13 cells did not alter glucose oxidation but it reduced fatty acid oxidation and increased lipogenesis from glucose. Metabolome profiling in INS 832/13 cells showed that IDHc knockdown increased isocitrate and NADP(+) levels. It also increased the cellular contents of several metabolites linked to GIIS, in particular some Krebs cycle intermediates, acetyl-CoA, glutamate, cAMP and ATP. The results identify IDHc as a component of the emerging pathways that negatively regulate GIIS