The progression of Type 2 diabetes is accompanied by diminishing islet β-cell mass and function. It has been proposed that β-cells are lost not only through apoptosis, but also by dedifferentiating into progenitor-like cells. There is therefore much interest in the mechanisms which define and maintain β-cell identity. The advent of genome-wide analyses of chromatin modifications has highlighted the role of epigenetic factors in determining cell identity. There is also evidence from both human populations and animal models for an epigenetic component in susceptibility to Type 2 diabetes. The mechanisms responsible for defining the epigenetic landscape in individual cell types are poorly understood, but there is growing evidence of a role for lncRNAs (long non-coding RNAs) in this process. In the present paper, we discuss some of the mechanisms through which lncRNAs may contribute to β-cell identity and Type 2 diabetes risk.
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Conference Article|
May 23 2013
Could lncRNAs contribute to β-cell identity and its loss in Type 2 diabetes?
Timothy J. Pullen;
Timothy J. Pullen
1
1Section of Cell Biology, Department of Medicine, Imperial College London, Exhibition Road, London SW7 2AZ, U.K.
1To whom correspondence should be addressed (emailt.pullen@imperial.ac.uk).
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Guy A. Rutter
Guy A. Rutter
1Section of Cell Biology, Department of Medicine, Imperial College London, Exhibition Road, London SW7 2AZ, U.K.
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Publisher: Portland Press Ltd
Received:
December 18 2012
Online ISSN: 1470-8752
Print ISSN: 0300-5127
© The Authors Journal compilation © 2013 Biochemical Society
2013
Biochem Soc Trans (2013) 41 (3): 797–801.
Article history
Received:
December 18 2012
Citation
Timothy J. Pullen, Guy A. Rutter; Could lncRNAs contribute to β-cell identity and its loss in Type 2 diabetes?. Biochem Soc Trans 1 June 2013; 41 (3): 797–801. doi: https://doi.org/10.1042/BST20120355
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