Comparison of enteroendocrine cells and pancreatic β-cells using gene expression profiling and insulin gene methylation

• Published in: PloS one 2018-10, Vol.13 (10), p.e0206401-e0206401
• Main Authors: Ryu, Gyeong Ryul, Lee, Esder, Kim, Jong Jin, Moon, Sung-Dae, Ko, Seung-Hyun, Ahn, Yu-Bae, Song, Ki-Ho
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animals; Biology and Life Sciences; Cell growth; Cell Line; Cholecystokinin; Cloning; Cytosine; Diabetes; Diabetes mellitus; Diabetes mellitus (insulin dependent); DNA Methylation; DNA microarrays; Embryogenesis; Embryonic growth stage; Endocrinology; Enteroendocrine Cells - metabolism; Epithelium; Flow cytometry; Gastrin; Gene expression; Gene Expression Profiling; GIP protein; Glucagon; Glucagon-like peptide 1; Glucose; Guanosine; Hormones; Insulin; Insulin - genetics; Insulin secretion; Insulin-Secreting Cells - metabolism; Internal medicine; Medicine; Medicine and Health Sciences; Metabolism; Mice; Nkx6.1 protein; Pancreas; Polymerase chain reaction; Proteins; Research and Analysis Methods; Rodents; Secretin; Stem cells; Transcription factors; Transcription Factors - genetics; Transgenic animals
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0206401

Various subtypes of enteroendocrine cells (EECs) are present in the gut epithelium. EECs and pancreatic β-cells share similar pathways of differentiation during embryonic development and after birth. In this study, similarities between EECs and β-cells were evaluated in detail. To obtain specific subtypes of EECs, cell sorting by flow cytometry was conducted from STC-1 cells (a heterogenous EEC line), and each single cell was cultured and passaged. Five EEC subtypes were established according to hormone expression, measured by quantitative RT-PCR and immunostaining: L, K, I, G and S cells expressing glucagon-like peptide-1, glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide, cholecystokinin, gastrin and secretin, respectively. Each EEC subtype was found to express not only the corresponding gut hormone but also other gut hormones. Global microarray gene expression profiles revealed a higher similarity between each EEC subtype and MIN6 cells (a β-cell line) than between C2C12 cells (a myoblast cell line) and MIN6 cells, and all EEC subtypes were highly similar to each other. Genes for insulin secretion-related proteins were mostly enriched in EECs. However, gene expression of transcription factors crucial in mature β-cells, such as PDX1, MAFA and NKX6.1, were remarkably low in all EEC subtypes. Each EEC subtype showed variable methylation in three cytosine-guanosine dinucleotide sites in the insulin gene (Ins2) promoter, which were fully unmethylated in MIN6 cells. In conclusion, our data confirm that five EEC subtypes are closely related to β-cells, suggesting a potential target for cell-based therapy in type 1 diabetes.