In diabetic patients, insulin-producing islet β-cells responsible for maintaining normal blood-glucose levels are often damaged or destroyed. Given the therapeutic potential for regenerating healthy β-cells, there is interest in understanding the pathways that regulate their expansion and response to metabolic stress. Villasenor et al. now show that the expression of two regulators of G-protein signalling, Rgs16 and Rgs8, is induced by chronic glucose stress in pancreatic endocrine cells in various mouse models. These are sensitive reporters of metabolic change and might influence the regeneration of β-cells in mature and developing tissue.
2010
