Calcineurin/NFATc signaling: role in postnatal ß cell development and diabetes mellitus.

ABSTRACT

Pancreatic islets are aggregates of endocrine cells required for blood glucose control and diabetes prevention after birth. In this issue of Developmental Cell, Goodyer et al. (2012) reveal a function of calcineurin, a calcium-activated serine/threonine phosphatase, in postnatal NFATc-regulated expression of genes that help ß cells to form insulin-containing vesicles and enter the cell cycle.