Human beta cell mass and function in diabetes: Recent advances in knowledge and technologies to understand disease pathogenesis

TLDR: In type 1 and type 2 diabetes impairment of beta cell function is an early feature of disease pathogenesis while a substantial decrease in beta cell mass occurs more closely to clinical manifestation, which suggests that the development of novel strategies for protection and recovery ofBeta cell function could be most promising for successful diabetes treatment and prevention.

Abstract: Background Plasma insulin levels are predominantly the product of the morphological mass of insulin producing beta cells in the pancreatic islets of Langerhans and the functional status of each of these beta cells. Thus, deficiency in either beta cell mass or function, or both, can lead to insufficient levels of insulin, resulting in hyperglycemia and diabetes. Nonetheless, the precise contribution of beta cell mass and function to the pathogenesis of diabetes as well as the underlying mechanisms are still unclear. In the past, this was largely due to the restricted number of technologies suitable for studying the scarcely accessible human beta cells. However, in recent years, a number of new platforms have been established to expand the available techniques and to facilitate deeper insight into the role of human beta cell mass and function as cause for diabetes and as potential treatment targets.