SUMOylation protects against IL-1ß-induced apoptosis in INS-1 832/13 cells and human islets.

Posttranslational modification by the small ubiquitin-like modifier (SUMO) peptides, known as SUMOylation, is reversed by the sentrin/SUMO-specific proteases (SENPs). While increased SUMOylation reduces ß-cell exocytosis, insulin secretion, and responsiveness to GLP-1, the impact of SUMOylation on islet cell survival is unknown. Mouse islets, INS-1 832/13 cells, or human islets were transduced with adenoviruses to increase either SENP1 or SUMO1 or were transfected with siRNA duplexes to knockdown SENP1. We examined insulin secretion, intracellular Ca²âº responses, induction of endoplasmic reticulum stress markers and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) expression, and apoptosis by TUNEL and caspase 3 cleavage. Surprisingly, upregulation of SENP1 reduces insulin secretion and impairs intracellular Ca²âº handling. This secretory dysfunction is due to SENP1-induced cell death. Indeed, the detrimental effect of SENP1 on secretory function is diminished when two mediators of ß-cell death, iNOS and NF-κB, are pharmacologically inhibited. Conversely, enhanced SUMOylation protects against IL-1ß-induced cell death. This is associated with reduced iNOS expression, cleavage of caspase 3, and nuclear translocation of NF-κB. Taken together, these findings identify SUMO1 as a novel antiapoptotic protein in islets and demonstrate that reduced viability accounts for impaired islet function following SENP1 up-regulation.

A glucose-dependent spatial patterning of exocytosis in human ß-cells is disrupted in type 2 diabetes.

Impaired insulin secretion in type 2 diabetes (T2D) is linked to reduced insulin granule docking, disorganization of the exocytotic site, and an impaired glucose-dependent facilitation of insulin exocytosis. We show in ß-cells from 80 human donors that the glucose-dependent amplification of exocytosis is disrupted in T2D. Spatial analyses of granule fusion, visualized by total internal reflection fluorescence (TIRF) microscopy in 24 of these donors, demonstrate that these are non-random across the surface of ß-cells from donors with no diabetes (ND). The compartmentalization of events occurs within regions defined by concurrent or recent membrane-resident secretory granules. This organization, and the number of membrane-associated granules, is glucose-dependent and notably impaired in T2D ß-cells. Mechanistically, multi-channel Kv2.1 clusters contribute to maintaining the density of membrane-resident granules and the number of fusion 'hotspots', while SUMOylation sites at the channel N- (K145) and C-terminus (K470) determine the relative proportion of fusion events occurring within these regions. Thus, a glucose-dependent compartmentalization of fusion, regulated in part by a structural role for Kv2.1, is disrupted in ß-cells from donors with type 2 diabetes.

SUMOylation and calcium control syntaxin-1A and secretagogin sequestration by tomosyn to regulate insulin exocytosis in human ß cells.

Insulin secretion from pancreatic ß cells is a multistep process that requires the coordination of exocytotic proteins that integrate diverse signals. These include signals derived from metabolic control of post-translational SUMOylation and depolarization-induced rises in intracellular Ca2+. Here we show that tomosyn, which suppresses insulin exocytosis by binding syntaxin1A, does so in a manner which requires its SUMOylation. Glucose-dependent de-SUMOylation of tomosyn1 at K298 releases syntaxin1A and controls the amplification of exocytosis in concert with a recently-identified tomosyn1-interacting partner; the Ca2+-binding protein secretagogin, which dissociates from tomosyn1 in response to Ca2+-raising stimuli and is required for insulin granule trafficking and exocytosis downstream of Ca2+ influx. Together our results suggest that tomosyn acts as a key signaling hub in insulin secretion by integrating signals mediated by metabolism-dependent de-SUMOylation and electrically-induced entry of Ca2+ to regulate the availability of exocytotic proteins required for the amplification of insulin secretion.

Kv2.1 Clustering Contributes to Insulin Exocytosis and Rescues Human ß-Cell Dysfunction.

Insulin exocytosis is regulated by ion channels that control excitability and Ca2+ influx. Channels also play an increasingly appreciated role in microdomain structure. In this study, we examine the mechanism by which the voltage-dependent K+ (Kv) channel Kv2.1 (KCNB1) facilitates depolarization-induced exocytosis in INS 832/13 cells and ß-cells from human donors with and without type 2 diabetes (T2D). We find that Kv2.1, but not Kv2.2 (KCNB2), forms clusters of 6-12 tetrameric channels at the plasma membrane and facilitates insulin exocytosis. Knockdown of Kv2.1 expression reduces secretory granule targeting to the plasma membrane. Expression of the full-length channel (Kv2.1-wild-type) supports the glucose-dependent recruitment of secretory granules. However, a truncated channel (Kv2.1-ΔC318) that retains electrical function and syntaxin 1A binding, but lacks the ability to form clusters, does not enhance granule recruitment or exocytosis. Expression of KCNB1 appears reduced in T2D islets, and further knockdown of KCNB1 does not inhibit Kv current in T2D ß-cells. Upregulation of Kv2.1-wild-type, but not Kv2.1-ΔC318, rescues the exocytotic phenotype in T2D ß-cells and increases insulin secretion from T2D islets. Thus, the ability of Kv2.1 to directly facilitate insulin exocytosis depends on channel clustering. Loss of this structural role for the channel might contribute to impaired insulin secretion in diabetes.

Isocitrate-to-SENP1 signaling amplifies insulin secretion and rescues dysfunctional ß cells.

Insulin secretion from ß cells of the pancreatic islets of Langerhans controls metabolic homeostasis and is impaired in individuals with type 2 diabetes (T2D). Increases in blood glucose trigger insulin release by closing ATP-sensitive K+ channels, depolarizing ß cells, and opening voltage-dependent Ca2+ channels to elicit insulin exocytosis. However, one or more additional pathway(s) amplify the secretory response, likely at the distal exocytotic site. The mitochondrial export of isocitrate and engagement with cytosolic isocitrate dehydrogenase (ICDc) may be one key pathway, but the mechanism linking this to insulin secretion and its role in T2D have not been defined. Here, we show that the ICDc-dependent generation of NADPH and subsequent glutathione (GSH) reduction contribute to the amplification of insulin exocytosis via sentrin/SUMO-specific protease-1 (SENP1). In human T2D and an in vitro model of human islet dysfunction, the glucose-dependent amplification of exocytosis was impaired and could be rescued by introduction of signaling intermediates from this pathway. Moreover, islet-specific Senp1 deletion in mice caused impaired glucose tolerance by reducing the amplification of insulin exocytosis. Together, our results identify a pathway that links glucose metabolism to the amplification of insulin secretion and demonstrate that restoration of this axis rescues ß cell function in T2D.

DeSUMOylation Controls Insulin Exocytosis in Response to Metabolic Signals.

The secretion of insulin by pancreatic islet ß-cells plays a pivotal role in glucose homeostasis and diabetes. Recent work suggests an important role for SUMOylation in the control of insulin secretion from ß-cells. In this paper we discuss mechanisms whereby (de)SUMOylation may control insulin release by modulating ß-cell function at one or more key points; and particularly through the acute and reversible regulation of the exocytotic machinery. Furthermore, we postulate that the SUMO-specific protease SENP1 is an important mediator of insulin exocytosis in response to NADPH, a metabolic secretory signal and major determinant of ß-cell redox state. Dialysis of mouse ß-cells with NADPH efficiently amplifies ß-cell exocytosis even when extracellular glucose is low; an effect that is lost upon knockdown of SENP1. Conversely, over-expression of SENP1 itself augments ß-cell exocytosis in a redox-dependent manner. Taken together, we suggest that (de)SUMOylation represents an important mechanism that acutely regulates insulin secretion and that SENP1 can act as an amplifier of insulin exocytosis.