Reduced insulin release has been linked to defect exocytosis in β-cells. However, whether expression of genes suggested to be involved in the exocytotic process (exocytotic genes) is altered in pancreatic islets from patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D), and correlate to insulin secretion, needs to be further investigated. Analysing expression levels of 23 exocytotic genes using microarray revealed reduced expression of five genes in human T2D islets (χ(2)=13.25; p<0.001). Gene expression of STX1A, SYT4, SYT7, SYT11, SYT13, SNAP25 and STXBP1 correlated negatively to in vivo measurements of HbA1c levels and positively to glucose stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS) in vitro in human islets. STX1A, SYT4 and SYT11 protein levels correspondingly decreased in human T2D islets. Moreover, silencing of SYT4 and SYT13 reduced GSIS in INS1-832/13 cells. Our data support that reduced expression of exocytotic genes contributes to impaired insulin secretion, and suggest decreased expression of these genes as part of T2D pathogenesis.

Short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), e.g. acetic acid, propionic acid and butyric acid, generated through colonic fermentation of dietary fibers, have been shown to reach the systemic circulation at micromolar concentrations. Moreover, SCFAs have been conferred anti-obesity properties in both animal models and human subjects. Branched SCFAs (BSCFAs), e.g., isobutyric and isovaleric acid, are generated by fermentation of branched amino acids, generated from undigested protein reaching colon. However, BSCFAs have been sparsely investigated when referring to effects on energy metabolism. Here we primarily investigate the effects of isobutyric acid and isovaleric acid on glucose and lipid metabolism in primary rat and human adipocytes. BSCFAs inhibited both cAMP-mediated lipolysis and insulin-stimulated de novo lipogenesis at 10 mM, whereas isobutyric acid potentiated insulin-stimulated glucose uptake by all concentrations (1, 3 and 10 mM) in rat adipocytes. For human adipocytes, only SCFAs inhibited lipolysis at 10 mM. In both in vitro models, BSCFAs and SCFAs reduced phosphorylation of hormone sensitive lipase, a rate limiting enzyme in lipolysis. In addition, BSCFAs and SCFAs, in contrast to insulin, inhibited lipolysis in the presence of wortmannin, a phosphatidylinositide 3-kinase inhibitor and OPC3911, a phosphodiesterase 3 inhibitor in rat adipocytes. Furthermore, BSCFAs and SCFAs reduced insulin-mediated phosphorylation of protein kinase B. To conclude, BSCFAs have effects on adipocyte lipid and glucose metabolism that can contribute to improved insulin sensitivity in individuals with disturbed metabolism.

Fermentation of dietary fibers by colonic microbiota generates short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), e.g., propionic acid and butyric acid, which have been described to have “anti-obesity properties” by ameliorating fasting glycaemia, body weight and insulin tolerance in animal models. In the present study, we therefore investigate if propionic acid and butyric acid have effects on lipolysis, de novo lipogenesis and glucose uptake in primary rat adipocytes. We show that both propionic acid and butyric acid inhibit isoproterenol- and adenosine deaminase-stimulated lipolysis as well as isoproterenol-stimulated lipolysis in the presence of a phosphodiesterase (PDE3) inhibitor. In addition, we show that propionic acid and butyric acid inhibit basal and insulin-stimulated de novo lipogenesis, which is associated with increased phosphorylation and thus inhibition of acetyl CoA carboxylase, a rate-limiting enzyme in fatty acid synthesis. Furthermore, we show that propionic acid and butyric acid increase insulin-stimulated glucose uptake. To conclude, our study shows that SCFAs have effects on fat storage and mobilization as well as glucose uptake in rat primary adipocytes. Thus, the SCFAs might contribute to healthier adipocytes and subsequently also to improved energy metabolism with for example less circulating free fatty acids, which is beneficial in the context of obesity and type 2 diabetes.

As shown by transgenic mouse models and by using phosphodiesterase 3 (PDE3) inhibitors, PDE3B has an important role in the regulation of insulin secretion in pancreatic β-cells. However, very little is known about the regulation of the enzyme. Here, we show that PDE3B is activated in response to high glucose, insulin and cAMP elevation in rat pancreatic islets and INS-1 (832/13) cells. Activation by glucose was not affected by the presence of diazoxide. PDE3B activation was coupled to an increase as well as a decrease in total phosphorylation of the enzyme. In addition to PDE3B, several other PDEs were detected in human pancreatic islets: PDE1, PDE3, PDE4C, PDE7A, PDE8A and PDE10A. We conclude that PDE3B is activated in response to agents relevant for β-cell function and that activation is linked to increased as well as decreased phosphorylation of the enzyme. Moreover, we conclude that several PDEs are present in human pancreatic islets.

Intratumoral administration of an immune primer is a therapeutic vaccine strategy aimed to trigger dendritic cell (DC)-mediated cross-presentation of cell-associated tumor antigens to cytotoxic CD8+ T cells without the need for tumor antigen characterization. The prevailing view is that these cross-presenting DCs have to be directly activated by pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPS), including Toll-like receptor ligands or live microbial agents like oncolytic viruses. Emerging data are however challenging this view, indicating that the cross-presenting machinery in DCs is suboptimally activated by direct PAMP recognition, and that endogenous inflammatory factors are the main drivers of DC-mediated cross-presentation within the tumor. Here we present preclinical mode of action data, CMC and regulatory data, as well as initial clinical data on ilixadencel. This cell-based drug product is an off-the-shelf immune primer, consisting of pro-inflammatory allogeneic DCs secreting high amounts of pro-inflammatory chemokines and cytokines at the time of intratumoral administration. The mechanism of action of ilixadencel is to induce recruitment and activation of endogenous immune cells, including NK cells that subsequently promotes cross-presentation of cell-associated tumor antigens by co-recruited DCs.