Islet Cell Biology: birth, identity and death

We aim to understand how the human beta cell achieves and maintains functional maturity and what goes wrong in type 2 diabetes. Our key focus areas include:

• Beta cell identity and loss in disease: plasticity, heterogeneity, cell-cell communication, dedifferentiation, reversal (Rutter, Ferrer)
• Epigenetics - chromatin marks, super-enhanced enhancers, non-coding RNAs, disallowed genes (Rutter, Ferrer, Latreille)
• Cellular signalling: mechanisms of nutrient sensing, electrical activity, circadian rhythms, gluco- and lipotoxicity (Rutter, Leclerc, Carling)
• Modelling genetic variants: Genome editing, directed differentiation, mouse genetics, lower organisms (Rutter, da Silva Xavier, Withers)
• Protecting beta cells: incretins, adipokines (Salem, Tomas, Rutter, Bloom, Gardiner)
• Roles of islet non-beta cells in glucose homoeostasis and diabetes risk (Rutter, da Silva Xavier)

Theme leads

Professor Guy Rutter, Head of Section of Cell Biology and Functional Genomics in the Department of Medicine, leads this theme. He is interested in signal transduction in the pancreatic beta cell, its regulation by genetic and environmental cues, and failure in type 2 diabetes. Further information on Professor Rutter