Mouse vanin-1 is cytoprotective for islet beta cells and regulates the development of type 1 diabetes

• DOI: 10.1007/s00125-008-1017-9
• Publication Date: 2008-05-07T08:08:56Z
• Authors: C. Roisin-Bouffay; R. Castellano; R. Valéro; L. Chasson; F. Galland; P. Naquet
• Keywords: Human physiology; BETA (programming language)

Islet cell death is a key initiating and perpetuating event in type 1 diabetes and involves both immune-mediated and endogenous mechanisms. The epithelial pantetheinase vanin-1 is proinflammatory and cytoprotective via cysteamine release in some tissues. We investigated the impact of a vanin-1 deficiency on islet death and type 1 diabetes incidence.Vanin-1-deficient mice were produced and tested in drug-induced and autoimmune diabetes models. The contribution of vanin-1 to islet survival versus immune responses was evaluated using lymphocyte transfer and islet culture experiments.The vanin-1/cysteamine pathway contributes to the protection of islet beta cells from streptozotocin-induced death in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore, vanin-1-deficient NOD mice showed a significant aggravation of diabetes, which depended upon loss of vanin-1 expression by host tissues. This increased islet fragility was accompanied by greater CD4+ insulitis without impairment of regulatory cells. Addition of cystamine, the product of pantetheinase activity, protected islets in vitro and compensated for vanin-1 deficiency in vivo.This study unravels a major cytoprotective role of cysteamine for islet cells and suggests that modulation of pantetheinase activity may offer alternative strategies to maintain islet cell homeostasis.