1. Academic Validation
  2. RFX6 regulates insulin secretion by modulating Ca2+ homeostasis in human β cells

RFX6 regulates insulin secretion by modulating Ca2+ homeostasis in human β cells

  • Cell Rep. 2014 Dec 24;9(6):2206-18. doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2014.11.010.
Vikash Chandra 1 Olivier Albagli-Curiel 1 Benoit Hastoy 2 Julie Piccand 3 Clotilde Randriamampita 4 Emmanuel Vaillant 5 Hélène Cavé 6 Kanetee Busiah 7 Philippe Froguel 8 Martine Vaxillaire 5 Patrik Rorsman 2 Michel Polak 7 Raphael Scharfmann 9
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 INSERM, U1016, Institut Cochin, Faculté de Médecine, Université Paris Descartes, Sorbonne Paris Cité, Paris 75014, France.
  • 2 Oxford Centre for Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism, University of Oxford, Churchill Hospital, Headington, Oxford OX3 7LE, UK.
  • 3 Departement of Development and Stem Cells Program, Institute of Genetics and Molecular and Cellular Biology (IGBMC), Illkirch 67404, France.
  • 4 CNRS, UMR8104, Institut Cochin, Paris 75014, France.
  • 5 CNRS, UMR8199, Lille Pasteur Institute, Lille 2 University, European Genomic Institute for Diabetes (EGID), Lille 59019, France.
  • 6 Department of Genetics, Robert-Debré Hospital, Paris 75019, France.
  • 7 INSERM, U1016, Institut Cochin, Faculté de Médecine, Université Paris Descartes, Sorbonne Paris Cité, Paris 75014, France; Department of Paediatric Endocrinology, Gynaecology, and Diabetology, Necker-Enfants Malades Hospital, IMAGINE Affiliate, Paris 75015, France.
  • 8 CNRS, UMR8199, Lille Pasteur Institute, Lille 2 University, European Genomic Institute for Diabetes (EGID), Lille 59019, France; Department of Genomics of Common Disease, School of Public Health, Imperial College London, Hammersmith Hospital, London W12 0NN, UK.
  • 9 INSERM, U1016, Institut Cochin, Faculté de Médecine, Université Paris Descartes, Sorbonne Paris Cité, Paris 75014, France. Electronic address: [email protected].
Abstract

Development and function of pancreatic β cells involve the regulated activity of specific transcription factors. RFX6 is a transcription factor essential for mouse β cell differentiation that is mutated in monogenic forms of neonatal diabetes. However, the expression and functional roles of RFX6 in human β cells, especially in pathophysiological conditions, are poorly explored. We demonstrate the presence of RFX6 in adult human pancreatic endocrine cells. Using the recently developed human β cell line EndoC-βH2, we show that RFX6 regulates Insulin gene transcription, Insulin content, and secretion. Knockdown of RFX6 causes downregulation of Ca(2+)-channel genes resulting in the reduction in L-type Ca(2+)-channel activity that leads to suppression of depolarization-evoked Insulin exocytosis. We also describe a previously unreported homozygous missense RFX6 mutation (p.V506G) that is associated with neonatal diabetes, which lacks the capacity to activate the Insulin promoter and to increase Ca(2+)-channel expression. Our data therefore provide insights for understanding certain forms of neonatal diabetes.

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