Novel regulators of islet function identified from genetic variation in mouse islet Ca oscillations.

Insufficient insulin secretion to meet metabolic demand results in diabetes. The intracellular flux of Ca into β-cells triggers insulin release. Since genetics strongly influences variation in islet secretory responses, we surveyed islet Ca dynamics in eight genetically diverse mouse strains. We found high strain variation in response to four conditions: (1) 8 mM glucose; (2) 8 mM glucose plus amino acids; (3) 8 mM glucose, amino acids, plus 10 nM glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP); and (4) 2 mM glucose. These stimuli interrogate β-cell function, α- to β-cell signaling, and incretin responses. We then correlated components of the Ca waveforms to islet protein abundances in the same strains used for the Ca measurements. To focus on proteins relevant to human islet function, we identified human orthologues of correlated mouse proteins that are proximal to glycemic-associated single-nucleotide polymorphisms in human genome-wide association studies. Several orthologues have previously been shown to regulate insulin secretion (e.g. ABCC8, PCSK1, and GCK), supporting our mouse-to-human integration as a discovery platform. By integrating these data, we nominate novel regulators of islet Ca oscillations and insulin secretion with potential relevance for human islet function. We also provide a resource for identifying appropriate mouse strains in which to study these regulators.