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First published online October 12, 2006

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Diabetes – ß cells show their metal

Insulin is stored in pancreatic ß cells as zinc-insulin crystals. In fact, the zinc levels in ß cells are among the highest in the body and they may even regulate insulin secretion under some circumstances. But what controls zinc levels and how does this affect glucose homeostasis? Fabrice Chimienti and co-workers have recently identified a novel zinc transporter, ZnT8, which they now show is present in pancreatic islet cells in vivo (see p. 4199). The transporter is exclusively expressed in the insulin-producing ß cells and colocalizes with insulin in secretory granules. Moreover, the authors find that overexpressing ZnT8 increases the amount of zinc in ß cells and promotes the release of insulin in response to stimulation with high levels of glucose. It also protects them from zinc-depletion-induced cell death. Zinc, insulin and glucose homeostasis thus appear to be closely linked. Given that increasing insulin secretion is an effective way of combating the hyperglycaemia characteristic of conditions such as diabetes, manipulating zinc levels in this way represents a promising therapeutic approach.

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Related articles in JCS:

In vivo expression and functional characterization of the zinc transporter ZnT8 in glucose-induced insulin secretion

Fabrice Chimienti, Séverine Devergnas, François Pattou, Frans Schuit, Rachel Garcia-Cuenca, Brigitte Vandewalle, Julie Kerr-Conte, Leentje Van Lommel, Didier Grunwald, Alain Favier, and Michel Seve
JCS 2006 119: 4199-4206. [Abstract] [Full Text]  

This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Related articles in JCS Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                         What's this?