Regulation of c-Jun NH₂-Terminal Kinase for Islet Transplantation

Islet transplantation has been demonstrated to provide superior glycemic control with reduced glucose lability and hypoglycemic events compared with standard insulin therapy. However, the insulin independence rate after islet transplantation from one donor pancreas has remained low. The low frequency of islet grafting is dependent on poor islet recovery from donors and early islet loss during the first hours following grafting. The reduction in islet mass during pancreas preservation, islet isolation, and islet transplantation leads to β-cell death by apoptosis and the prerecruitment of intracellular death signaling pathways, such as c-Jun NH₂-terminal kinase (JNK), which is one of the stress groups of mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs). In this review, we show some of the most recent contributions to the advancement of knowledge of the JNK pathway and several possibilities for the treatment of diabetes using JNK inhibitors.