Presenter: James Holman
Authors: James Holman
Faculty Advisor: Jeffery Tessem
Institution: Brigham Young University
Both type 1 and type 2 are characterized by a decrease in functional beta cell mass. Nkx6.1 has been shown to be a necessary transcription factor for functional beta cell mass and to induce cell proliferation in mice. However, Nkx6.1 only induces cell proliferation in young mice, not in aged mice. We suspect this is due to a change in binding partners of Nkx6.1 in the young to the aged. To identify other proteins that interact with Nkx6.1, we performed a BioID analysis that tags all proteins that interact with Nkx6.1 with biotin. Among the identified proteins was Mef2D, a neuronal survival factor. These data suggest that Mef2D may play a critical role in maintaining functional beta cell mass. Here, we show the effects of Mef2D in beta cells on proliferation, insulin secretion, and survival.