Modern living is associated with an epidemic of type 2 diabetes mellitus. Many studies have shown that pre- and postnatal environmental factors exert major influences on the disease risk. Sleep disturbances are strong independent risk factors for incident diabetes with a magnitude of effect comparable to a family history of diabetes.
Studies suggest differences in gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) prevalence among different ethnic groups, with Caucasians generally having the lowest risk. Furthermore, studies from high income countries generally report an inverse relationship between GDM risk and socio-economic position.
Insulin resistance is a central feature of T2DM and is the primary target for therapy. Nevertheless, the pathological consequences of T2DM predominantly relate to cerebro- and cardiovascular disease (CVD), representing the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in T2DM. Up to 60% of all deaths in T2DM are directly related to CVD, whilst patients with T2DM develop microvascular complications (e.g. retinopathy, nephropathy and neuropathy).
During the last years a great scientific focus has been on the potential implications of exposure to hyperglycemia during pregnancy for long-term adiposity and cardio-metabolic outcomes in the offspring.
Age is a major risk factor for insulin resistance, and thus, type 2 diabetes. The development of insulin resistance has been associated with metabolic inflexibility (MI), yet the underlying mechanisms are complex and not well understood. MI is defined and observed as an inability to favor lipid metabolism during fasting and exercise, and conversely, to suppress lipid oxidation and increase glucose uptake, storage, and oxidation under insulin-stimulated conditions (feeding).
In this project Nina will use multi-color reporters to exploit how the signaling cues that regulate differentiation and cellular expansion during human pluripotent stem cell (hPSC) progression to insulin producing beta cells communicate.
A mechanistic understanding of organ regeneration is fundamental for developing tissue replacement therapies with which to treat injury or disease. With the overarching goal of understanding the regenerative capacity and cellular plasticity of the developing pancreas, I aim to explore the extent of tissue recovery, revealing the origin of the regenerating pancreatic cells and analyzing the signaling pathways involved in this process.
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