Zebrafish pancreatic β cell clusters undergo stepwise regeneration using Neurod1-expressing cells from different cell lineages

Abstract

Pancreatic β cell clusters produce insulin and play a central role in glucose homeostasis. The regenerative capacity of mammalian β cells is limited and the loss of β cells causes diabetes. In contrast, zebrafish β cell clusters have a high regenerative capacity, making them an attractive model to study β cell cluster regeneration. How zebrafish β cell clusters regenerate, when the regeneration process is complete, and the identification of the cellular source of regeneration are fundamental questions that require investigation. Here, using larval and adult zebrafish, we demonstrate that pancreatic β cell clusters undergo a two-step regeneration process, regenerating functionality and then β cell numbers. Additionally, we found that all regenerating pancreatic β cells arose from Neurod1-expressing cells and that cells from different lineages contribute to both functional and β cell number recovery throughout their life. Furthermore, we found that during development and neogenesis, as well as regeneration, all β cells undergo Neurod1expression in zebrafish. Together, these results shed light on the fundamental cellular mechanisms underlying β cell cluster development, neogenesis, and regeneration.