Islets and Glucose Homeostasis
1Department of Internal Medicine, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan
2Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
3Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Department of Internal Medicine, Chang Gung University and Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taoyuan, Taiwan
Islets and Glucose Homeostasis
Description
Diabetes is caused by relative insulin deficiency resulting in the inability to regulate blood glucose. This can occur because of loss of endogenous insulin through autoimmune depletion of pancreatic beta cells (type 1 diabetes). Alternatively, the disease may manifest as insulin resistance with eventual beta cell failure and apoptosis arising, in part, from increased metabolic and secretory demands (type 2 diabetes). Regardless of the underlying cause of the disease, insufficient beta cell mass leads to dependence on exogenous insulin for blood glucose regulation. The morbidities associated with diabetes are significant. The knowledge about islet cell development, cell-based therapy, pancreas transplantation, and factors attributing to changing the secretory function and/or mass of islet beta cells might help to develop a novel treatment to diabetes.
We invite investigators to contribute original research articles as well as review articles that explore aspects in islet developmental biology, islet or whole pancreas transplantation, cell-based therapy, apoptotic and antiapoptotic signals of islet beta cells, and therapeutic strategies to improve either beta cell function or beta cell mass. Potential topics include, but are not limited to:
- Islet developmental biology
- Islet or whole pancreas transplantation
- Generate a beta-like cells from pancreatic progenitor cells
- Generate a beta-like cells from transdifferentiation of nonbeta cells
- Apoptotic and antiapoptotic signals of islet beta cells
- Therapeutic strategies to improve insulin secretory function of islet beta cells
- Therapeutic strategies to increase beta cell mass
Before submission authors should carefully read over the journal’s Author Guidelines which are located at http://www.hindawi.com/journals/ije/guidelines/. Prospective authors should submit an electronic copy of their complete manuscript through the journal Manuscript Tracking System at http://mts.hindawi.com/submit/journals/ije/islets/ according to the following timetable: