Journal
JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR CELL BIOLOGY
Volume 4, Issue 4, Pages 221-230Publisher
OXFORD UNIV PRESS
DOI: 10.1093/jmcb/mjs025
Keywords
diabetes; pancreatic islets; DJ-1; mitochondria
Categories
Funding
- Collaborative Research Center 590 [SFB 590, B11]
- European Foundation for the Study of Diabetes and Lilly Research Fellowship (EFSD)
- German Center for Diabetes Research of Federal Ministry for Education and Research
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Elderly patients often suffer from multiple age-related diseases. Here we show that the expression of DJ-1, an antioxidant protein with reduced expression in the central nervous system of patients with Parkinsons disease, is reduced in pancreatic islets of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). In contrast, under non-diabetic conditions, DJ-1 expression increases in mouse and human islets during aging. In mouse islets, we show that DJ-1 prevents an increase in reactive oxygen species levels as the mice age. This antioxidant function preserves mitochondrial integrity and physiology, prerequisites for glucose-stimulated insulin secretion. Accordingly, DJ-1-deficient mice develop glucose intolerance and reduced cell area as they age or gain weight. Our data suggest that DJ-1 is more generally involved in age- and lifestyle-related human diseases and show for the first time that DJ-1 plays a key role in glucose homeostasis and might serve as a novel drug target for T2DM.
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