糖代谢紊乱是二型糖尿病病发的主要诱因之一。在糖代谢稳态中,胰岛细胞—尤其是β-细胞—的分子生物学调控起到了关键的作用。近年的研究发现RNA上的m6A甲基化修饰通过调节mRNA的定位、稳定性、以及翻译效率等通路参与调控了众多生物学过程【1】。而对于m6A是否参与了胰岛中细胞的生物学功能调控及其机制的研究尚属空白。 2019年7月29日,来自芝加哥大学的何川团队联合哈佛大学Joslin糖尿病研究所的Rohit Kulkarni团队(共同一作为Dario F.De Jesus与张子杰博士)在Nature Metabolism杂志上发表文章m6A mRNA methylation regulates human β-cell biology in physiological states and in type 2 diabetes。通过m6A测序比较糖尿病患者和健康人群胰岛样品中的m6A甲基化图谱、利用体外EndoC-βH1 β细胞模型以及小鼠β细胞Mettl14 敲除动物模型进行验证,揭示了m6A通过调节Insulin/IGF1-AKT-PDX1信号通路基因表达进而调节胰岛中β细胞的细胞周期、胰岛素分泌等生物学功能。
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