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Diabetologia 2016 12 27;59(12):2654-2663. Epub 2016 Sep 27.

Montreal Diabetes Research Center, CRCHUM, 900 St-Denis (Viger Tower), Room R08-412, Montreal, QC, H1W 4A4, Canada.

Aims/hypothesis: To directly assess the role of beta cell lipolysis in insulin secretion and whole-body energy homeostasis, inducible beta cell-specific adipose triglyceride lipase (ATGL)-deficient (B-Atgl-KO) mice were studied under normal diet (ND) and high-fat diet (HFD) conditions.

Methods: Atgl mice were cross-bred with Mip-Cre-ERT mice to generate Mip-Cre-ERT;Atgl mice. At 8 weeks of age, these mice were injected with tamoxifen to induce deletion of beta cell-specific Atgl (also known as Pnpla2), and the mice were fed an ND or HFD. Read More

Nat Med 2016 Jan 7;22(1):84-90. Epub 2015 Dec 7.

Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute, Mt. Sinai Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

The glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor and the glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) receptor transduce nutrient-stimulated signals to control beta cell function. Although the GLP-1 receptor (GLP-1R) is a validated drug target for diabetes, the importance of the GIP receptor (GIPR) for the function of beta cells remains uncertain. We demonstrate that mice with selective ablation of GIPR in beta cells (MIP-Cre:Gipr(Flox/Flox); Gipr(-/-βCell)) exhibit lower levels of meal-stimulated insulin secretion, decreased expansion of adipose tissue mass and preservation of insulin sensitivity when compared to MIP-Cre controls. Read More