Impaired function and reduced mass of pancreatic islet b-cells are two hallmarks of type 2 diabetes (T2D) (1,2). However, clinical onset of T2D does not occur until b-cells fail to secrete sufficient insulin to maintain normoglycemia in the face of insulin resistance (1,2). While studies performed on isolated human islets have identified multiple pathways that may contribute to b-cell failure in T2D, these studies lack the ability to investigate the initial steps that occur in vivo before or at early stages of onset of T2D and the sequence of events that result in b-cell failure in patients with T2D.Growing evidence from recent studies suggests that chronic islet inflammation, in addition to its key role in the pathogenesis of type 1 diabetes, also plays an important role in b-cell dysfunction and failure in T2D (3-9). Impaired b-cell function precedes the clinical onset of T2D, suggesting an early role for islet inflammation in the process of b-cell failure in this disease. The association between chronic activation of the innate immune system and T2D has long been appreciated (10) but recently has gained high attention due to increasing evidence supporting its importance. The elevated number of islet-associated macrophages and increased expression of interleukin (IL)-1b have been reported in the pancreatic islets from patients with T2D (4,11). Moreover, it was recently demonstrated that depletion of resident islet macrophages in high fat-fed transgenic mice with islet amyloid formation can reduce IL1b expression, improve b-cell insulin secretion, and restore glucose tolerance (8). Accordingly, animal studies and clinical trials targeting IL-1b signaling have been shown to improve b-cell function and glucose homeostasis in T2D (12)(13)(14). Taken together, these findings support the idea that IL-1b is likely a key proinflammatory mediator of b-cell damage in T2D. Thus, identifying the factors that contribute to local generation of IL-1b in the islets of patients with T2D is of great interest.Increased islet IL-1b levels have been reported following chronic exposure of human islets to elevated glucose, fatty acids, or leptin-three factors that are closely associated with T2D (3,15,16). Moreover, it was recently shown that biosynthetic amyloid formation in human islets causes b-cell dysfunction and death via induction of Fas upregulation and activation of the Fas-mediated apoptotic pathway initiated by caspase-8, which closely correlates with increased islet IL-1b levels (6,9). These studies provided evidence that amyloid-induced Fas upregulation is likely mediated by IL-1b. In line with these findings, Westwell-Roper et al. (8) have reported b-cell dysfunction associated with increased islet IL-1b expression in high fat-fed transgenic mice with islet amyloid formation. These findings support the idea that local IL-1b production, likely induced by multiple factors during prediabetic state and/or early stages of T2D, may play a key role in b-cell failure in T2D. However, other factors that contribute to this proce...