Measuring Death of Pancreatic Beta Cells in Response to Stress and Cytotoxic T Cells

Abstract

Apoptosis of pancreatic beta cells is a feature of type 1 and type 2 diabetes, although by different effector mechanisms. In type 1 diabetes, beta cells are the targets of cytotoxic CD8(+) T cells that kill by releasing the contents of their cytotoxic granules into the immunological synapse with the target beta cell. In type 2 diabetes, the mechanisms of beta cell apoptosis are less clear, but believed to be due to cellular stresses including endoplasmic reticulum stress and oxidative stress induced by chronic exposure to high concentrations of glucose, lipids, inflammatory cytokines, or islet amyloid polypeptide. Measuring apoptosis in primary islets can be more difficult than in a beta cel..