Project Summary:
During pregnancy, the body must adjust its metabolism to support both the mother and the developing fetus. One important change involves glucose regulation. In healthy pregnancies, the pancreas naturally increases the number of insulin-producing beta cells to meet the higher demand for insulin.
Janielle’s project aims to uncover how the body naturally triggers this increase in beta cells. By understanding the mechanisms that allow beta cell population to increase during pregnancy, this research could reveal new ways to restore beta cell numbers in people with type 1 diabetes (T1D).
To investigate this process, Janielle will use a multimodal approach using pregnant mice. She will combine redox microscopy and calcium imaging to observe the metabolic changes occurring in pancreatic islets, which are the clusters of cells that contain beta cells. She will also use spatial single-cell RNA sequencing to understand the difference in genetic expression of the beta cells and other islet cells to support the beta cells expansion in pregnancy. This will help identify the signals and pathways that support beta cell expansion.
This work is important because T1D results from the irreversible loss of beta cells. During pregnancy, however, there is a natural expansion of beta cells in response to increased insulin demand. The biological mechanisms behind this expansion are still not fully understood. By uncovering how the body naturally increases beta cell numbers, Janielle hopes to identify pathways that could eventually be used to restore insulin-producing cells in people with T1D.
