Xu Deheng research group made important progress in the study of the pathogenesis of diabetes

is one of the highest and most serious health problems in the world in the 21st century. Diabetes can lead to stroke, cardiovascular disease, chronic kidney failure, blindness, amputation and other complications, seriously affecting human health and living standards.
is a metabolic disease in which blood sugar is long above the standard value due to insufficient insulin secretion or utilization disorders in the body. Insulin is secreted by β of the pancreas and plays a key role in maintaining the body's blood sugar balance, and when insulin synthesis is disrupted, it can cause blood sugar imbalances and diabetes. Insulin is a prelude to insulin, mainly synthesized in the pancreas β cellular endosome mesh, properly folded, transported from the endosuric network to the Gorki body for shearing, the production of insulin and C-peptides. However, the specific mechanisms for the transport of insulin from the endophysic network to the Goerki body are still unclear.
A previous study by Xu Deheng of the Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences showed that cTAGE5/MEA6 was involved in regulating the transport and secretion of the macromolegis- very low-density lipoproteins from the endostrobin to the Gorki body in the liver (Wang et al., Cell Research 2016). By building a mouse model of cTAGE5 β specifically knocking out pancreatic cells, they found that cTAGE5 gene knock-off caused severe diabetes in mice. Blood sugar increased significantly in mice, insulin levels dropped significantly, and the normal regulation of blood sugar was lost. Further molecular mechanism studies have found that there is an interaction between cTAGE5 and V-SNARE protein Sec22b, and that the interaction between cTAGE5 and Sec22b plays a key role in the transport of insulin. Thus, cTAGE5 regulates the transport of insulin and insulin secretion by recruiting Sec22b and then working with Sec22b to regulate the release of COPII vesicles (see figure below). This study confirms for the first time that cTAGE5 play an important role in the secretion transport of small molecular substances (insulin), further clarifies the molecular mechanism of insulin primary vesicle transport, and provides a theoretical basis for opening up new ways of diabetes diagnosis/treatment.
results were published online November 13 at
(doi:10.1083/jcb.201705027). Fan Junwan, a doctoral student at Xu Deheng Research Group, and Wang Yaqing, an associate researcher, are co-authors of this paper. The research is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China and the Chinese Academy of Sciences. (Source: Science.com)