Elsevier

Molecular Metabolism

Volume 2, Issue 4, November 2013, Pages 348-355
Molecular Metabolism

Review
Regulation of β-cell function by RNA-binding proteins

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.molmet.2013.09.003Get rights and content
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open access

Abstract

β-cells of the pancreatic islets are highly specialized and high-throughput units for the production of insulin, the key hormone for maintenance of glucose homeostasis. Elevation of extracellular glucose and/or GLP-1 levels triggers a rapid upregulation of insulin biosynthesis through the activation of post-transcriptional mechanisms. RNA-binding proteins are emerging as key factors in the regulation of these mechanisms as well as in other aspects of β-cell function and glucose homeostasis at large, and thus may be implicated in the pathogenesis of diabetes. Here we review current research in the field, with a major emphasis on RNA-binding proteins that control biosynthesis of insulin and other components of the insulin secretory granules by modulating the stability and translation of their mRNAs.

Keywords

RNA-binding proteins
β-cells
Diabetes
Insulin
mRNA stability
Translation

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