NYR-Diabetes Research Center (NYR-DRC)

ABSTRACT Diabetes affects some 30 million people in the US. Both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes ultimately result from failure of beta cell mass and/or function. Human islets and beta cells are similar to their rodent counterparts in many ways but differ in important ways. Accordingly, the NIDDK, ADA and JDRF are increasing their focus on research in human beta cell and islet biology. Indeed, research focused on human islets is essential for translating important insights from rodent islets and beta cells into significant advances in human diabetes research and treatment. In the next cycle, the primary mission of the HIAC will be to provide key advice, methods, technology and infrastructure to assist investigators in using human islets for research, to further understand normal and pathophysiologic islet cell growth and function. Although research in rodents unequivocally continues to provide new important insights into islet biology and pathobiology, it is of utmost importance to translate the advances and discoveries made in rodent beta cells and cell lines to human islet investigation and therapies. Conversely, when important advances are made in human islet cells, follow-up mechanistic studies are often best performed in isolated mouse or rat islets, or in insulinoma cell lines. HIAC personnel have extensive expertise in the preparation, methodology, handling and use of both human and rodent islets and all relevant insulinoma and alpha cell lines. Thus, while the focus is on human islets, the HIAC will also continue to provide, isolation of rodent islets, access to rodent insulinoma cell lines, and specific experimental analyses such as assays for insulin secretion, islet bioenergetics, beta cell proliferation, mass and survival, as well as human islet transplantation into immunodeficient mice, with subsequent functional analyses. The second main mission of the HIAC is to generate and make available to the NYR-DRC community critical reagents and tools including adenovirus vectors for gene delivery of cDNAs and shRNAs to study beta cell regeneration, differentiation, survival and function. These reagents are also available for use in the transduction of non-islet cell types and tissues. In addition, we maintain the capacity and expertise to generate custom lentiviruses and adeno-associated viruses (AAVs) of the various serotypes.