Date of Award

2020

Document Type

Open Access Master's Report

Degree Name

Master of Science in Biological Sciences (MS)

Administrative Home Department

Department of Biological Sciences

Advisor 1

Xiaoqing Tang

Committee Member 1

Guiliang Tang

Committee Member 2

Ebenezer Tumban

Abstract

Insulin is an essential hormone produced by β-cells in the pancreas. The release of insulin is tightly regulated in healthy people in order to control blood sugar level in our body. However, people with Type 2 Diabetes have insufficient insulin secretion from pancreatic β-cells, leaving to high blood sugar (hyperglycemia) and β-cell failure. microRNAs (miRNAs or miR) are newly discovered small regulatory molecules and have emerged as important regulator of cell growth, differentiation, and organ function. Altered miRNA function has been implicated in the pathogenesis of a variety of human disease, including diabetes. In this report, we focus on dissecting the physiologic function of miR-483 in regulating insulin secretion and preventing β-cell failure. We discovered that miR-483 deletion in β-cells significantly decreased insulin secretion, leading to glucose intolerance when the mice were challenged with a high-fat diet. Mouse genotyping, quantitative real-time PCR, blood glucose and insulin assays, along with glucose tolerance testing have been applied in the study.

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