High beta-cell mass prevents streptozotocin-induced diabetes in thioredoxin-interacting protein-deficient mice

Thioredoxin-interacting protein (TxNIP) is an endogenous inhibitor of thioredoxin, a ubiquitous thiol oxidoreductase, that regulates cellular redox status. Diabetic mice exhibit increased expression of TxNIP in pancreatic islets, and recent studies suggest that TxNIP is a proapoptotic factor in beta-cells that may contribute to the development of diabetes. Here, we examined the role of TxNIP deficiency in vivo in the development of insulin-deficient diabetes and whether it impacted on pancreatic beta-cell mass and/or insulin secretion. TxNIP-deficient (Hcb-19/TxNIP(-/-)) mice had lower baseline glycemia, higher circulating insulin concentrations, and higher total pancreatic insulin content and beta-cell mass than control mice (C3H). Hcb-19/TxNIP(-/-) did not develop hyperglycemia when injected with standard multiple low doses of streptozotocin (STZ), in contrast to C3H controls. Surprisingly, although beta-cell mass remained higher in Hcb-19/TxNIP(-/-) mice compared with C3H after STZ exposure, the relative decrease induced by STZ was as great or even greater in the TxNIP-deficient animals. Consistently, cultured pancreatic INS-1 cells transfected with small-interfering RNA against TxNIP were more sensitive to cell death induced by direct exposure to STZ or to the combination of inflammatory cytokines interleukin-1beta, interferon-gamma, and tumor necrosis factor-alpha. Furthermore, when corrected for insulin content, isolated pancreatic islets from TxNIP(-/-) mice exhibited reduced glucose-induced insulin secretion. These data indicate that TxNIP functions as a regulator of beta-cell mass and influences insulin secretion. In conclusion, the relative resistance of TxNIP-deficient mice to STZ-induced diabetes appears to be because of an increase in beta-cell mass. However, TxNIP deficiency is associated with sensitization to STZ- and cytokine-induced beta-cell death, indicating complex regulatory roles of TxNIP under different physiological and pathological conditions.