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Updated: Nov 24, 2025

A Murine Pancreatic Islet Cell-based Screening for Diabetogenic Environmental Chemicals
Published on: June 25, 2018
Pharmacological Targeting of Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress in Pancreatic Beta Cells
Sara Bilekova1, Stephan Sachs1, Heiko Lickert2
1Institute of Diabetes and Regeneration Research, Helmholtz Zentrum München, Neuherberg, Germany; German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD), Neuherberg, Germany; Technical University of Munich, Medical Faculty, Munich, Germany.
Abstract:
Diabetes is a disease with pandemic dimensions and no pharmacological treatment prevents disease progression. Dedifferentiation has been proposed to be a driver of beta-cell dysfunction in both type 1 and type 2 diabetes. Regenerative therapies aim to re-establish function in dysfunctional or dedifferentiated beta cells and restore the defective insulin secretion. Unsustainable levels of insulin production, with increased demand at disease onset, strain the beta-cell secretory machinery, leading to endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress. Unresolved chronic ER stress is a major contributor to beta-cell loss of function and identity. Restoring ER homeostasis, enhancing ER-associated degradation of misfolded protein, and boosting chaperoning activity, are emerging therapeutic approaches for diabetes treatment.
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