Month: March 2026

In response to the lockdowns and travel bans during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, Peter C. Butler at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), started a virtual islet biology seminar series. After the authors of this article joined him as co-organizers, this initiative became the Islet Research Seminar Series (IRSS). Like islets of Langerhans […]

Pancreatic β-cells play a central role in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), yet the interactions between β-cells and stromal components within the islet microenvironment remain poorly defined. We investigated the contribution of pancreatic fibroblasts to β-cell dysfunction and T2DM progression. We used single-cell sequencing technology and in vitro experiments to investigate the mechanisms by which bariatric […]

Adipokines serve crucial functions in diabetic kidney disease (DKD) pathogenesis. Growth differentiation factor 5 (GDF5) is highly expressed in adipose tissue, but its specific role in DKD is unknown. In this study, we observed elevated GDF5 expression in both patients with DKD and db/db mice, suggesting a potential association between GDF5 and DKD progression. Elevated […]

Pancreatic islet cells differentiate from a common progenitor pool through tightly regulated transcriptional and epigenetic programs. ISL1, a LIM homeodomain transcription factor, is essential for islet development, but its molecular functions remain poorly defined. Here, we demonstrate that ISL1 is critical for maintaining endocrine cell identity and enabling terminal differentiation, particularly of α- and β-cells. […]

Chronic low-grade inflammation underlies many microvascular complications of diabetes, including diabetic kidney disease (DKD). Lipoxins (LXs), an endogenously produced family of lipid mediators, resolve inflammation and protect against renal scarring as occurs in DKD. This study examined the mechanism by which LXs protect against DKD, focusing on the regulation of VCAM-1 and the recruitment of […]

Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is a heterogeneous condition diagnosed solely through glucose. It is characterized by profound perturbations in the metabolome, with specific metabolic profiles linked to adverse birth outcomes. Metabolomics can reveal population heterogeneity in health and disease. Here, we used nontargeted metabolomics to systematically profile the circulating metabolome in 2,050 pregnant women during […]

Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is the most common chronic autoimmune disease in children, driven by a breakdown in self-tolerance and T cell–mediated immune attack of pancreatic β-cells. There are no biomarkers to effectively diagnose autoimmunity before disease onset and clinical symptom development. Here, we applied deep multiparametric immunophenotyping to compare immune landscapes in 38 patients […]

We read with great interest the recent article in Diabetes by Gonçalves et al. (1), reporting that functional pericyte coverage of islet capillaries is compromised at very early stages of β-cell loss and low-grade inflammation, before the onset of overt hyperglycemia. Using a subdiabetogenic streptozotocin mouse model, the authors demonstrated that altered pericyte-endothelial interactions were associated […]

Diabetes calls on thousands of scientific and medical experts each year to review manuscript submissions. The editors of Diabetes sincerely appreciate the efforts of all of our reviewers who volunteer their time and expertise to provide valuable feedback to ensure the consistently high quality of the research published in each issue. We would like to […]