Our Research Members

Adria Giacca
Giacca, Adria
U Of T Appointments

Professor, Department of Physiology and Department of Medicine

Contact Information
University of Toronto
Medical Sciences Building
1 King's College Circle
Toronto, ON M5S 1A8
Phone: 416-978-0167
Fax: 416-978-4373
[email protected]
View website
Diabetes Related Research Activities:

The primary theme of A.G.’s research is the investigation of the effects of excess circulating energy substrates, in particular free fatty acids, on insulin action, secretion and kinetics, and the implication of these effects for the pathogenesis of diabetes. Secondary themes of research are the studies of the effects of nutrient and insulin excess in animal models of atherosclerosis and cancer .

Richard E. Gilbert
Gilbert, Richard E.
MD, PhD, FRCPC
U Of T Appointments

Professor, Department of Medicine

Other Appointments

Head, Division of Endocrinology & Metabolism, St. Michael’s Hospital
Canada Research Chair in Diabetes Complications

Contact Information
St. Michael's Hospital
61 Queen Street East
Toronto, ON M5C 2T2
Phone: 416-867-3747
[email protected]
View website
Diabetes Related Research Activities:

Research in the Gilbert lab focuses on the pathogenesis of diabetes complications as a way to evolve new therapies to prevent their development and attenuate their progression. Current projects involve translational research in diabetic nephropathy, retinopathy and heart failure, exploring novel pharmacological treatments and the use of adult stem cells to regenerate diseased tissue.

Jenna Gillen
Gillen, Jenna
PhD
U Of T Appointments

Assistant Professor, Faculty of Kinesiology & Physical Education

Contact Information
University of Toronto
Goldring Center for High Performance Sport
100 Devonshire Pl.
Toronto, ON M5S 2C9
Phone: 416-978-3244
[email protected]
View website
Diabetes Related Research Activities:

I am interested in understanding how exercise and nutrition impact carbohydrate and fat metabolism in humans, and identifying lifestyles strategies to improve metabolic health. This ranges from conducting studies in young healthy adults to those at risk for, or afflicted with, metabolic disease. We are interested in practical questions relating to the importance of exercise dose (e.g., intensity vs. duration), mode (e.g., aerobic vs. resistance), and timing (e.g., before vs. after a meal) on indices of metabolic health such as insulin sensitivity and cardiorespiratory fitness. We are also interested in exploring sex-based differences in the adaptive response to exercise and nutritional interventions in an effort to provide sex-specific recommendations for improved health of Canadians.

Stephen Girardin
Girardin, Stephen
PhD
U Of T Appointments

Professor, Department of Laboratory Medicine & Pathobiology
Academic Director, Microscopy Imaging Laboratories (MIL), Temerty Faculty of Medicine

Contact Information
University of Toronto
Medical Sciences Building
1 King's College Circle
Toronto, ON M5S 1A8
Phone: 416-978-7507
[email protected]
View website
Diabetes Related Research Activities:

We study the role of a mitochondrial named NLRX1 in diabetes. Our preliminary research has identified that NLRX1 plays a role in the regulation of body weight and of obseity-induced diabetes in vivo. Because NLRX1 was identified as a key regulator of apoptosis during inflammation, we are interested in identifying how this mitochondrial protein links obesity and diabetes with inflammation and cell death.

Rick Glazier
Glazier, Rick
MD, MPH, FCFP
U Of T Appointments

Professor, Department of Family and Community Medicine

Other Appointments

Senior Scientist, Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences
Scientist, Centre for Research on Inner City Health, St. Michael’s Hospital

Contact Information
St. Michael's Hospital
Centre for Research on Inner City Health
30 Bond Street
Toronto, ON M5B 1W8
Phone: 416-864-6060 x77444
[email protected]
Diabetes Related Research Activities:

Diabetes in primary care – processes of care, impact of incentives, health disparities.
Risk factors for diabetes, especially socioeconomic status, ethnoracial background and immigration, neighbourhood walkability.

Marc Grynpas
Grynpas, Marc
PhD
U Of T Appointments

Professor, Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology

Other Appointments

Director, Bone and Mineral Group

Contact Information
Mount Sinai Hospital
600 University Avenue
Toronto, ON M5G 1X5
Phone: 416-586-4800 x4464
Fax: 416-586-1554
[email protected]
View website
Diabetes Related Research Activities:

Our research focuses on the effects of diabetes on the skeletal system using pre-clinical models. Examples of our research includes:

1) Effect of Vanadium Treatment on Bone Loss and Bone Quality in Rat Models of Diabetes. Vanadium compounds have been shown to be effective in experimental diabetes and insulin-resistant hypertension. However, these agents are known to accumulate in bone mineral where vanadate substitutes for phosphate. It is therefore essential to understand the long-term effects on these compounds on bone quality. (Facchini DM, Yuen VG, Battell ML, McNeill JH, Grynpas MD. The effects of vanadium treatment on bone in diabetic and non-diabetic rats. Bone. 2006; 38(3):368-77)

2) The effect of Rosiglitazone treatment on bone quality in rat models of type 2 diabetes and osteoporosis. Rosiglitazone (RSG) is an insulin-sensitizing drug used to treat patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) to improve glycemic control. The ADOPT clinical trial showed that women taking RSG experienced more fractures. The purpose of our study is to understand the mechanism by which RSG induces limb fracture and alters bone quality in the insulin resistant Zucker Fatty rat.

3) Comparison of the skeletal effects in the treatment of type2 diabetes with Sitagliptin (a DPP4 inhibitor) or Pioglitazone (a PPRgamma agonist) in mice fed a high fat diet.

Margaret Hahn
Hahn, Margaret
MD, PhD, FRCPC
U Of T Appointments

Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry
Associate Member, Institute of Medical Sciences

Other Appointments

Clinician Scientist, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH),
Complex Mental Illness
Director, Mental Health and Metabolism Clinic, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health

Contact Information
Centre for Addiction and Mental Health
250 College St.
Toronto, ON M5T 1R8
Phone: 416-535-8501 x34368
Fax: 416-979-4292
[email protected]
Diabetes Related Research Activities:

Dr. Hahn is a clinician-scientist at the CAMH whose research interests lie in translational work focused on the complex interplay between mental illness, antipsychotic treatments, and cardiometabolic risk, with a special interest in type 2 diabetes. Given the early accrual of metabolic risk leading to a 20% reduction in life expectancy for patients with schizophrenia and other severe mental illnesses, she has an interest in treatment and prevention strategies of so called “modifiable” cardiovascular risk factors. She is leading a number of clinical trials focus on targeted pharmacological interventions to reduce metabolic burden and improve other domains of health (i.e. psychopathology, cognition, quality of life) in this population. She is the director of the Mental Health and Metabolic Clinic at the CAMH, which specializes in metabolic monitoring, and interventions for metabolic risk factors in individuals with serious mental illness. She also oversees a basic science laboratory which conducts cutting edge research examining mechanisms (focusing on the central nervous system) of high rates of obesity and diabetes in those receiving psychotropic treatments. Dr. Hahn holds the Cardy Schizophrenia Research Chair at CAMH.

Jill Hamilton
Hamilton, Jill
MD, FRCPC
U Of T Appointments

Professor, Department of Paediatrics, Division of Endocrinology, Director, Centre for Healthy Active Kids

Other Appointments

Senior Associate Scientist, Physiology and Experimental Medicine, SickKids Research Institute

Contact Information
The Hospital For Sick Children
555 University Avenue
Toronto, ON M5G 1X8
Phone: 416-813-5115
Fax: 416-813-6304
[email protected]
View website
Diabetes Related Research Activities:

My research interests include the clinical and physiologic manifestations of insulin resistance and pancreatic beta cell function in the pediatric age group. I am also interested in treatment studies of childhood obesity. Recent studies include:

(i) risk for diabetes and metabolic syndrome and pathophysiologic mechanisms related to the development of hypothalamic obesity in children treated for craniopharyngioma;
(ii) early life risk factors for the development of obesity and diabetes in infants born to women with gestational diabetes;
(iii) incidence and clinical presentation of type 2 diabetes in Canadian children
(iv) evaluation of eating behaviours and traits in children and adolescents attending weight management programs in Canada
(v) bariatric surgery outcomes in adolescents

Anthony Hanley
Hanley, Anthony
PhD
U Of T Appointments

Professor, Department of Nutritional Sciences; Department of Medicine; and Dalla Lana School of Public Health

Other Appointments

Associate Scientist, Leadership Sinai Centre for Diabetes, Mount Sinai Hospital

Contact Information
Department of Nutritional Sciences, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto
Medical Sciences Building
1 King's College Circle
Toronto, ON M5S 1A8
Phone: 416-978-3616
Fax: 416-978-5882
[email protected]
Diabetes Related Research Activities:

Dr. Hanley’s research interests include the metabolic and nutritional epidemiology of type 2 diabetes and related disorders including obesity, insulin resistance, and beta cell dysfunction, as well as the micro-and macro-vascular complications of type 2 diabetes. His research focuses on diabetes in Indigenous Canadian communities and other high-risk populations. Current projects include the Sandy Lake Health and Diabetes Project, the PROMISE study, as well as collaborations with the Insulin Resistance Atherosclerosis Study and the Gestational Diabetes and Acute Phase Biomarkers research groups.

Gillian Hawker
Hawker, Gillian
MD, MSc
U Of T Appointments

Sir John and Lady Eaton Professor and Chair of Medicine
Professor and Clinician Scientist, Division of Rheumatology, Department of Medicine, WCH/Women’s College Research Institute
Professor, Institute for Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, Dalla Lana School of Public Health

Other Appointments

Senior Adjunct Scientist, ICES

Contact Information
Department of Medicine
Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, C. David Naylor Building
6 Queen’s Park Crescent West, 3rd Floor
Toronto, ON M5S 3H2
Phone: 416-946-8071
[email protected]
Diabetes Related Research Activities:

I am a clinical epidemiologist/health services researcher in the field of osteoarthritis (OA) – I have conducted observational studies examining the relationship between OA and diabetes. Among other findings, we have shown that difficulty walking due to hip or knee OA is an independent risk factor for diabetes complications in people with OA and diabetes, and also a risk factor for incident diabetes.

Scott Heximer
Heximer, Scott
PhD
U Of T Appointments

Associate Professor, Department of Physiology, Temerty Faculty of Medicine

Contact Information
University of Toronto
Medical Sciences Building
1 King's College Circle
Toronto, ON M5S 1A8
Phone: 416-978-6048
Fax: 416-978-4373
[email protected]
View website
Diabetes Related Research Activities:

Many physiologic processes are mediated by a group of switch-like heterotrimeric G proteins. G proteins are normally coupled to receptors on the cell surface to act as intracellular relays between environmental stimuli and the rest of the cell. Our work defines the biologic importance for precise kinetic regulation of G-protein-mediated signaling events.

Regulation of G-protein signaling pathways: The G-protein heterotrimer is composed of a GDP-bound G alpha subunit and a G beta gamma heterodimer. Upon G-protein activiation, the Galpha subunits are free to engage appropriate downstream effector pathways. Effector signaling is terminated following G alpha catalysed hydrolysis of GTP and reformation of the quiescent receptor-coupled heterotrimer. RGS proteins are a family of GTPase activating proteins (GAPs) for G alpha subunits. By increasing the intrinsic rate of GTP hydrolysis for G alpha subunits, RGS proteins impact GPCR-mediated signaling pathways by: i) promoting faster signal termination kinetics following removal of a physiologic GPCR agonist; and ii) decreasing GPCR agonist sensitivity (i.e. higher agonist concentrations are needed to achieve the same degree of signaling). Our work is aimed at defining the molecular mechanisms that regulate the function of RGS proteins in vivo . Using a combination of physiology, biochemistry, cell biology, pharmacology, and genetics we examine how subcellular localization, G-protein selectivity and interaction with other cellular signaling components regulates the function of RGS proteins in living organisms.

Regulation of G-protein signalling in Pancreatic Islet beta cells: Previous work has shown that one RGS protein family member, RGS4, is highly expressed in beta cells and its function can have profound physiologic effects on insulin secretion. Although the majority of the work in this field has been focussed on the role of RGS4 at the plasma membrane, our recent studies have identified a novel intracellular location for RGS4, the preautophagosome, where it can regulate the autophagic flux and metabolic homeostasis within beta cells. Notably, activated Galphai3 is a potent attenuator of autophagic activity. Accordingly, our work is aimed at understanding the role of RGS4 in the regulation of autophagic flux and enery homeostasis in pancreatic islet beta cells.

Eno Hysi
Hysi, Eno
PhD
U Of T Appointments

Assistant Professor, Department of Medical Biophysics, Temerty Faculty of Medicine

Other Appointments

Staff Scientist, Keenan Research Centre for Biomedical Science, St. Michael’s Hospital, Unity Health Toronto
Adjunct Professor, Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, Toronto Metropolitan University

Contact Information
St. Michael's Hospital, Keenan Research Centre for Biomedical Science
Li Ka Shing Knowledge Insitute
209 Victoria Street
Toronto, ON M5B 1T8
Phone: 416-360-4000
[email protected]
View website
Diabetes Related Research Activities:

Diabetes-related injuries affect virtually all the major organs, leading to an epidemic of macrovascular and microvascular complications that lead to organ failure. My research program is focused on developing novel imaging modalities for the examination of diabetic-related injuries in various organs such as the kidney, liver, heart, and skin. I direct the Translational Ultrasound and Photoacoustic Imaging Laboratory (TUPIL) at St. Michael’s Hospital. I am particularly interested in quantitative ultrasound and photoacoustic imaging, two related modalities that have a lot of potential for simultaneous examinations of whole organ structure and function, across multiple biological length scales. Our techniques are capable of assessing vascular injuries, and their impact on organ fibrosis. These modalities have been deployed in preclinical studies in the kidney and liver, and are currently used in a clinical trial at St. Michael’s Hospital in assessing the degree of fibrovascular injury in kidney transplants, which are often impacted by diabetic nephropathies present in donors.

David M. Irwin
Irwin, David M.
PhD
U Of T Appointments

Professor, Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology

Contact Information
University of Toronto
Medical Sciences Building
1 King's College Circle
Toronto, ON M5S 1A8
Phone: 416-978-0519
[email protected]
View website
Diabetes Related Research Activities:

Research in the Irwin lab focuses on the evolution of genes involved in diabetes. Many of the genes and proteins (e.g., the proglucagon-derived peptides glucagon, GLP-1, and GLP-2) involved in glucose metabolism are related yet have differing function. By examining the origin and evolution of these genes we hope to identify portions of the sequences important for their unique functions. We are also interested in role of liver-specific glucokinase in glucose metabolism. We are currently using comparative and molecular approaches to identify regulatory sequences essential for regulation of expression, including insulin induction, of the glucokinase gene in the liver.

Elmar Jaeckel
Jaeckel, Elmar
MD
U Of T Appointments

Professor of Medicine

Other Appointments

Medical Director, Toronto Liver Transplant Program, Ajmera Transplant Centre
University Health Network

Contact Information
Toronto General Hospital
MaRS Building, 9th floor, room 9107
585 University Ave.
Toronto, ON M5G 2N2
Phone: 416-340-4800
[email protected]
Diabetes Related Research Activities:

Elmar Jaeckel is a trained gastroenterologist/hepatologist as well as endocrinologist/diabetologist and transplantation specialist. He is Medical Director of the Liver Transplant Program at the Ajmera Transplant Centre, University Health Network. Since 2003, he has been leading the research group on immune tolerance and metabolic inflammation at the Hanover Medical School. The group is focusing to establish tissue-specific tolerance in autoimmunity, transplantation and metabolic inflammation.

His working group, Immune Tolerance, aims in establishing immune tolerance in type 1 diabetes and after biological beta cell replacement. For this purpose, he is developing new cell and gene therapy approaches. He is involved in pursuing islet xenotransplantation in Germany and to facilitate tolerance to stem cell derived beta cells. One major research focus is the change of specificity of regulatory T cells for beta cells by the use of chimeric antigen-receptors (CARs). In addition, he aims in local control of immune responses in metabolic inflammation in NASH patients.

He has published numerous articles on viral hepatitis, autoimmune liver disease, autoimmune diabetes and islet transplantation tolerance. He developed tissue-specific regulatory T cell therapies for local tolerance induction, which are currently being tested in clinical trials. He has numerous patents on tolerance inducing therapies and is co-founder of Quell Therapeutics aiming to develop clinical therapies for tolerance induction with regulatory T cells.

David J. A. Jenkins
Jenkins, David J. A.
MD, PhD
U Of T Appointments

Professor, Departments of Nutritional Sciences and Medicine, Faculty of Medicine

Other Appointments

Director of Clinical Nutrition and Risk Factor Modification Centre, St. Michael’s Hospital

Contact Information
St. Michael's Hospital
61 Queen Street East
Toronto, ON M5C 2T2
Phone: 416-867-7475
Fax: 416-867-7495
[email protected]
Diabetes Related Research Activities:

Dr. Jenkins research area is the use of diet in the prevention and treatment of hyperlipidemia and diabetes. He has over 200 original publications on these and related topics. His team was the first to define and explore the concept of the glycemic index of foods and demonstrate the breadth of metabolic effects of viscous soluble fiber, including blood glucose and cholesterol lowering. His studies on combining cholesterol lowering food components (dietary portfolio) have been recognized as creating an effective dietary alternative to drug therapy (statins) for many people and was the only dietary approach referenced in the update of the guidelines of the US National Cholesterol Education Program (ATP III).

Tianru Jin
Jin, Tianru
U Of T Appointments

Professor, Department of Medicine, Division of Endocrinology & Metabolism

Contact Information
Princess Margaret Cancer Research Tower
101 College Street
Toronto, ON M5G 1L7
Phone: 416-581-7670
[email protected]
Diabetes Related Research Activities:

A) Mechanisms Underlying the Production and Function of the Incretin Hormone GLP-1. The proglucagon gene (Gcg) encodes three major peptide hormones, namely glucagon (produced in pancreas), glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) and GLP-2 (both are produced mainly in intestines). These hormones exert opposite or overlapping functions in controlling blood homeostasis, food intake, cell growth and proliferation. Based on the features of GLP-1, two new categories of drugs, namely GLP-1 analogues and DPP-IV inhibitors, have been developed for T2D treatment. We are exploring mechanisms underlying the production and function of peptide hormones encoded by Gcg, including GLP-1. We are now studying the role of Wnt signalling and the crosstalk between Wnt and other signalling pathways in regulating the expression and function of GLP-1.

B) Mechanisms Underlying the Expression and Function of the Lipogenic Gene Carbohydrates Response Element Binding Protein (ChREBP). The transcription factor ChREBP is a “master controller” of lipogenic genes that encode a battery of enzymes for converting carbohydrates into lipids. The function of ChREBP can be turned on by hyperglycemia and its expression was shown to be increased in obesity and hyperinsulinemia animal models. We are studying molecular mechanisms underlying the expression of ChREBP and its targets.

Calvin Ke
Ke, Calvin
MD, PhD
U Of T Appointments

Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine, University of Toronto

Other Appointments

Clinician Scientist, Toronto General Hospital Research Institute
Staff Endocrinologist, Toronto General Hospital, University Health Network

Contact Information
Toronto General Hospital
12 E-252
200 Elizabeth St.
Toronto, ON M5G 2C4
Phone: 416-340-3298
[email protected]
Diabetes Related Research Activities:

Dr. Calvin Ke received his Doctor of Medicine from the University of Toronto. He completed his residency training in Internal Medicine at the University of British Columbia and Endocrinology and Metabolism at the University of Toronto. He completed his PhD in clinical epidemiology and global health as a Global Scholar at the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, University of Toronto. He served as an Honorary Visiting Scholar at The Chinese University of Hong Kong. He provides clinical outreach services for Chinese-speaking communities with the CareFirst Family Health Team.

Dr. Ke’s research focuses on young-onset type 2 diabetes (individuals diagnosed with type 2 diabetes before the age of 40 years), and on type 2 diabetes in Chinese and South Asian populations. He applies clinical epidemiological methods to characterize the burden, management, and outcomes of type 2 diabetes in both local and global populations across China and India. He is a member of the International Diabetes Federation Atlas Committee and the NCD Risk Factor Collaboration.

Dawn M. Kilkenny
Kilkenny, Dawn M.
PhD
U Of T Appointments

Associate Professor, Teaching Stream
Institute of Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering (IBBME)

Contact Information
University of Toronto
Rosebrugh
164 College Street
Toronto, ON M5S 3G9
Phone: 416-978-8835
Fax: 416-978-4317
[email protected]
View website
Diabetes Related Research Activities:

My research interest is focused on Fibroblast Growth Factor receptor (FGFR) expression and signaling in adult beta cells. We have identified control of FGFR1-expression and -signaling by modifications in the beta-cell extracellular microenvironment. We are now investigating the role of the novel kinase-deficient FGFR5 isoform in the regulation of beta-cell FGFR1-signalling. Using insulin-secreting cell lines, we have expression of FGFR5 at both the cell membrane as well as in association with insulin secretory granules. Expression of FGFR5 enhances classical intracellular FGF-mediated signaling pathways, cellular matrix adhesion as well as insulin content. Expression of a ‘dominant-negative’ (kinase-deficient) isoform of classical FGFR1 (similar in structure to FGFR5) has been shown to induce a diabetic phenotype in mice. Taken together, these data promote our interest in defining the role that FGFRs play in normal beta-cell maintenance and insulin secretion. We currently examine this receptor signaling system using methods of fluorescence microscopy (live-cell and fixed) both in vitro as well as in vivo (whole islet), and verify our results in combination with traditional biochemical techniques.

Peter Kim
Kim, Peter
PhD
U Of T Appointments

Associate Professor, Department of Biochemistry

Other Appointments

Senior Scientist, SickKids

Contact Information
The Hospital for Sick Children
PGCRL
686 Bay St.
Toronto, Ontario M5G 0A4
Phone: 416-813-5983
[email protected]
View website
Diabetes Related Research Activities:

I am an organelle cell biologist who focuses on understanding cellular processes in the perceptive of organelles to understand human diseases. One of my main focus is understanding the role of the metabolic organelles, the peroxisomes. Peroxisomes are metabolic organelles are critical for metabolism of lipids and redox homeostasis. One of our goal is to understand the role of peroxisomes in pathogenesis of obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). For this reason, my lab has two area of interest in respect to T2DM:

1) There is growing evidence to suggest a potential involvement of peroxisomes in pathogenesis of obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). For example, plasma levels of nonesterified fatty acids (NEFAs) are increased under the conditions of obesity and adipose dysfunction, which ultimately exert lipotoxicity and promote insulin resistance. Since peroxisomes may play a pivotal role in regulating plasma NEFA levels through governing lipid droplet (LD) formation and fatty acid oxidation in adipocytes, we are studying the role of adipose-peroxisomes can be directly associated with pathogenesis of T2DM.
 
2) Recently it has been demonstrated that H2O2 generated in peroxisomes rather than in the mitochondria is responsible for NEFA-induced lipotoxicity in pancreatic beta-cells. Therefore, when the elevated levels of NEFAs in obesity exceed the capacity of mitochondrial beta-oxidation, the excess fatty acids will be metabolized via peroxisomal beta-oxidation, leading to increased production of H2O2. Therefore, we are studying whether a lack of peroxisomes in pancreatic beta-cells impedes the inactivation of H2O2, resulting in b-cell dysfunction due to ROS-mediated lipotoxicity.

Tae-Hee Kim
Kim, Tae-Hee
PhD
U Of T Appointments

Assistant Professor,
Department of Molecular Genetics

Other Appointments
Scientist, Developmental and Stem Cell Biology Program,
The Hospital for Sick Children
Contact Information
The Hospital For Sick Children
686 Bay Street
Toronto, Ontario M5G 0A4
Phone: 416-813-8138
[email protected]
View website
Diabetes Related Research Activities:

Although mesenchymal-epithelial interactions play a critical role in organ development and stem cells, little is known about digestive organ-specific stromal signals. Utilizing reporter mice that label pancreatic, stomach and intestinal stromal cells, we analyzed their gene expression and identified pancreatic stroma-specific downregulation of Hh signaling. To investigate how mesenchymal Hh signaling is tightly regulated, we conditionally deleted two Hh negative regulators, Sufu and Spop, in the pancreatic mesenchyme and demonstrated their critical roles in beta cell differentiation during pancreatic development. Since Hh activation increases the expression of gut mesenchymal Wnt ligands, leading to severe defects in beta cell development, in collaboration with Dr. Cristina Nostro’s group, we examined the role of Wnt signaling in hESC differentiation. Notably, Wnt inhibitors such as WIKI4 significantly increased the number of C-PEP+/NKX6.1+ beta-like cells, whereas its agonist, CHIR99021, impaired the expression of pancreatic progenitors and endocrine lineage markers. Our goal is to define the signaling and epigenetic mechanisms of pancreatic niche signals for beta cell maturation and function.

« First ‹ Previous 1 2 3 4 5 7 Next › Last »