The Role of Nr4a1 in β-cell Growth and Onset of Type 2 Diabetes

Authors

Adam Wynn, Brigham Young University
Jeffery Tessem, Ph.D., Brigham Young University

Keywords

Nr4a1, type 2 diabetes, β-cell

College

Life Sciences

Department

Nutrition, Dietetics, and Food Science

Abstract

Progression to type 2 diabetes (T2D) includes a loss of functional pancreatic beta cells (β-cells), which are responsible for secreting insulin and maintaining healthy blood sugar levels. Nr4a1 is a gene that has been shown to be involved in fuel utilization in the liver, muscles, and adipose tissues,1, 2, 3, 4 but not much is known about its role in the β-cell and T2D progression. We therefore set out to further define Nr4a1’s role in the β- cell during T2D progression. We hypothesized that the loss of Nr4a1 in the pancreata of mice would result in decreased β-cell maintenance and expedite the development of T2D in an obesity-induced model.

Recommended Citation

Wynn, Adam and Tessem, Ph.D., Jeffery (2019) "The Role of Nr4a1 in β-cell Growth and Onset of Type 2 Diabetes," Journal of Undergraduate Research: Vol. 2019: Iss. 2019, Article 121.
Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/jur/vol2019/iss2019/121