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Updated: Apr 15, 2026

A High-content In Vitro Pancreatic Islet β-cell Replication Discovery Platform
Published on: July 16, 2016
TGF-β signalling prevents pancreatic beta cell death after proliferation
Chen Lei1, Xiaoling Zhou, Yi Pang
1Xi'an Jiaotong University Medical School, Department of Physiology, Xian, 710061, China; Department of Endocrinology, The General Hospital of Ningxia Medical University, Yinchuan, 750004, China.
Objectives:
Maintenance of functional beta cell mass is critical for prevention of diabetes. The transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β) receptor signalling pathway plays an essential role in pancreatic development. However, its involvement in control of post-natal beta cell growth has only been recently reported.
Materials And Methods:
Here, we studied the role of TGF-β receptor signalling in beta cell proliferation after 50% partial pancreatectomy (PPx), using beta cell-specific TGF-β receptor II (TBR2)-mutated mice.
Results:
Consistent with previous reports, we found that inhibition of TGF-β receptor signalling in beta cells resulted in slightly higher beta cell mass 1 week after PPx, due to greater beta cell proliferation. However, beta cell mass in these beta cell-specific TBR2-mutated mice significantly decreased by 12 weeks after PPx, resulting from increase in beta cell apoptosis.
Conclusions:
Our data thus suggest that TGF-β receptor signalling may be required for prevention of beta cell death after proliferation, and highlight this pathway as an essential regulator during post-natal beta cell homoeostasis.
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