Islet-resident macrophage-derived miR-155 promotes β cell decompensation via targeting PDX1

Chronic inflammation is critical for the initiation and progression of type 2 diabetes mellitus via causing both insulin resistance and pancreatic β cell dysfunction. miR-155, highly expressed in macrophages, is a master regulator of chronic inflammation. Here we show that blocking a macrophage-derived exosomal miR-155 (MDE-miR-155) mitigates the insulin resistances and glucose intolerances in high-fat-diet (HFD) feeding and type-2 diabetic db/db mice. Lentivirus-based miR-155 sponge decreases the level of miR-155 in the pancreas and improves glucose-stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS) ability of β cells, thus leading to improvements of insulin sensitivities in the liver and adipose tissues. Mechanistically, miR-155 increases its expression in HFD and db/db islets and is released as exosomes by islet-resident macrophages under metabolic stressed conditions. MDE-miR-155 enters β cells and causes defects in GSIS function and insulin biosynthesis via the miR-155-PDX1 axis. Our findings offer a treatment strategy for inflammation-associated diabetes via targeting miR-155.