In a study, published last week in Nature Communications, a group of scientists has introduced a new method for tracing the history of β-cells which could help advance understanding of diabetes.
The method combines genetic barcoding and multicolor imaging to get detailed information of β-cell history. The authors were able to use this method to trace β-cells with regards to their proliferation, function and time of differentiation in zebrafish.
The authors found that β-cells with different developmental histories co-exist together, creating a heterogeneous population with cells that differ in their potential for undergoing proliferation and performing functional tasks.
This finding is significant as some believe that β-cell heterogeneity may play a role in diabetes progression. “For example, even 20 years after the onset of Type 1 diabetes, some β-cells can survive in the pancreas, perhaps because these cells are different from the rest, which allows them to hide from the immune system and to escape autoimmune destruction," said Nikolay Ninov, the group leader for the project.
The study also revealed the onset of β-cell function in zebrafish. The team plans to make further use of their model to understand how β-cells acquire a functional state. This knowledge may someday enable the production of functional human β-cells in vitro for transplantation purposes.