Poster #038
Extracellular Vesicles as Key Regulators of Beta Cell Health in Aging
Mentor: Rebecca Mary Peter, Post-Doctoral Fellow
Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is a chronically progressing age-dependent disease due to an insufficient number of functioning beta cells to meet the increased insulin demand. We specifically focus on the age-associated effects of extracellular vesicles (EVs) on beta cells. EVs play an important role in disease pathogenesis by modulating cell-to-cell communication. In our current study, we are investigating whether circulating EVs impact beta cell health and/or senescence by studying pancreatic sections of 5-week-old and 1.5-year-old C57BL6 mice after intraperitoneal (i.p.) treatment of circulating EVs or GW4869, an EV inhibitor. In our first experiment, we will determine beta cell health of aged mice after treatment with circulatory EVs isolated from the serum of young and aged mice. In our second experiment, we assess beta cell health of young and aged mice after depleting circulatory EVs. This study will provide novel insights into EVs’ role in T2D.