Abstract
There is an interaction between reproduction and energy stores. Both the production and secretion of insulin by pancreatic islet β-cells must adapt to the metabolic demands of various environmental stresses related to reproduction and energy status. These adaptations must occur in a sex-specific manner. It is therefore conceivable that reproductive hormones play a role in β-cell adaptation to environmental stresses. This review explores the roles of estrogen, androgen, progesterone, and lactogens in pancreatic β-cell mass and function under conditions of metabolic stress such as pregnancy, obesity, and diabetes.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Alonso-Magdalena P, Ropero AB, Carrera MP, Cederroth CR, Baquie M et al (2008) Pancreatic insulin content regulation by the estrogen receptor ER α. PLoS One 3:e2069
Amaral ME, Cunha DA, Anhe GF, Ueno M, Carneiro EM et al (2004) Participation of prolactin receptors and phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase and MAP kinase pathways in the increase in pancreatic islet mass and sensitivity to glucose during pregnancy. J Endocrinol 183:469–476
Balhuizen A, Kumar R, Amisten S, Lundquist I, Salehi A (2010) Activation of G protein-coupled receptor 30 modulates hormone secretion and counteracts cytokine-induced apoptosis in pancreatic islets of female mice. Mol Cell Endocrinol 320:16–24
Baquie M, St-Onge L, Kerr-Conte J, Cobo-Vuilleumier N, Lorenzo PI et al (2011) The liver receptor homolog-1 (LRH-1) is expressed in human islets and protects β-cells against stress-induced apoptosis. Hum Mol Genet 20:2823–2833
Basaria S, Muller DC, Carducci MA, Egan J, Dobs AS (2006) Hyperglycemia and insulin resistance in men with prostate carcinoma who receive androgen-deprivation therapy. Cancer 106:581–588
Bordin S, Amaral ME, Anhe GF, Delghingaro-Augusto V, Cunha DA et al (2004) Prolactin-modulated gene expression profiles in pancreatic islets from adult female rats. Mol Cell Endocrinol 220:41–50
Brelje TC, Svensson AM, Stout LE, Bhagroo NV, Sorenson RL (2002) An immunohistochemical approach to monitor the prolactin-induced activation of the JAK2/STAT5 pathway in pancreatic islets of Langerhans. J Histochem Cytochem 50:365–383
Choe SS, Choi AH, Lee JW, Kim KH, Chung JJ et al (2007) Chronic activation of liver X receptor induces β-cell apoptosis through hyperactivation of lipogenesis: liver X receptor-mediated lipotoxicity in pancreatic β-cells. Diabetes 56:1534–1543
Choi SB, Jang JS, Park S (2005) Estrogen and exercise may enhance β-cell function and mass via insulin receptor substrate 2 induction in ovariectomized diabetic rats. Endocrinology 146:4786–4794
Contreras JL, Smyth CA, Bilbao G, Young CJ, Thompson JA et al (2002) 17β-Estradiol protects isolated human pancreatic islets against proinflammatory cytokine-induced cell death: molecular mechanisms and islet functionality. Transplantation 74:1252–1259
Doglioni C, Gambacorta M, Zamboni G, Coggi G, Viale G (1990) Immunocytochemical localization of progesterone receptors in endocrine cells of the human pancreas. Am J Pathol 137:999–1005
Dunaif A, Finegood DT (1996) β-cell dysfunction independent of obesity and glucose intolerance in the polycystic ovary syndrome. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 81:942–947
Finan B, Yang B, Ottaway N, Stemmer K, Muller TD et al (2012) Targeted estrogen delivery reverses the metabolic syndrome. Nat Med 18:1847–1856
Freemark M, Avril I, Fleenor D, Driscoll P, Petro A et al (2002) Targeted deletion of the PRL receptor: effects on islet development, insulin production, and glucose tolerance. Endocrinology 143:1378–1385
Fujinaka Y, Takane K, Yamashita H, Vasavada RC (2007) Lactogens promote β cell survival through JAK2/STAT5 activation and Bcl-XL upregulation. J Biol Chem 282:30707–30717
Goffin V, Binart N, Clement-Lacroix P, Bouchard B, Bole-Feysot C et al (1999) From the molecular biology of prolactin and its receptor to the lessons learned from knockout mice models. Genet Anal 15:189–201
Gonzalez F, Rote NS, Minium J, Kirwan JP (2006) Increased activation of nuclear factor kappaB triggers inflammation and insulin resistance in polycystic ovary syndrome. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 91:1508–1512
Goodarzi MO, Erickson S, Port SC, Jennrich RI, Korenman SG (2005) β-Cell function: a key pathological determinant in polycystic ovary syndrome. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 90:310–315
Goodman MN, Hazelwood RL (1974) Short-term effects of oestradiol benzoate in normal, hypophysectomized and alloxan-diabetic male rats. J Endocrinol 62:439–449
Haffner SM, Laakso M, Miettinen H, Mykkanen L, Karhapaa P et al (1996) Low levels of sex hormone-binding globulin and testosterone are associated with smaller, denser low density lipoprotein in normoglycemic men. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 81:3697–3701
Holte J, Bergh T, Berne C, Berglund L, Lithell H (1994) Enhanced early insulin response to glucose in relation to insulin resistance in women with polycystic ovary syndrome and normal glucose tolerance. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 78:1052–1058
Houssay BA, Foglia VG, Rodriguez RR (1954) Production or prevention of some types of experimental diabetes by oestrogens or corticosteroids. Acta Endocrinol (Cph) 17:146–164
Huang C, Snider F, Cross J (2009) Prolactin receptor is required for normal glucose homeostasis and modulation of β-cell mass during pregnancy. Endocrinology 150:1618–1626
Huang X, Chen J, Wang Q, Chen X, Wen W et al (2011) miR-338-3p suppresses invasion of liver cancer cell by targeting smoothened. J Pathol 225:463–472
Hughes E, Huang C (2011) Participation of Akt, menin, and p21 in pregnancy-induced β-cell proliferation. Endocrinology 152:847–855
Jacovetti C, Abderrahmani A, Parnaud G, Jonas JC, Peyot ML et al (2012) MicroRNAs contribute to compensatory β cell expansion during pregnancy and obesity. J Clin Invest 122:3541–3551
Johansson M, Olerud J, Jansson L, Carlsson PO (2009) Prolactin treatment improves engraftment and function of transplanted pancreatic islets. Endocrinology 150:1646–1653
Kang L, Zhang X, Xie Y, Tu Y, Wang D et al (2010) Involvement of estrogen receptor variant ER-α36, not GPR30, in nongenomic estrogen signaling. Mol Endocrinol 24:709–721
Keating NL, O’Malley A, Freedland SJ, Smith MR (2012) Diabetes and cardiovascular disease during androgen deprivation therapy: observational study of veterans with prostate cancer. J Natl Cancer Inst 104(19):1518–1523
Khaw KT, Barrett-Connor E (1992) Lower endogenous androgens predict central adiposity in men. Ann Epidemiol 2:675–682
Kim H, Toyofuku Y, Lynn FC, Chak E, Uchida T et al (2010) Serotonin regulates pancreatic β cell mass during pregnancy. Nat Med 16:804–U106
Kondegowda N, Mozar A, Chin C, Otero A, Garcia-Ocaña A et al (2012) Lactogens protect rodent and human β cells against glucolipotoxicity-induced cell death through Janus kinase-2 (JAK2)/signal transducer and activator of transcription-5 (STAT5) signalling. Diabetologia 55:1721–1732
Kumar R, Balhuizen A, Amisten S, Lundquist I, Salehi A (2011) Insulinotropic and antidiabetic effects of 17β-estradiol and the GPR30 agonist G-1 on human pancreatic islets. Endocrinology 152:2568–2579
Le May C, Chu K, Hu M, Ortega CS, Simpson ER et al (2006) Estrogens protect pancreatic β-cells from apoptosis and prevent insulin-deficient diabetes mellitus in mice. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 103:9232–9237
Liu S, Mauvais-Jarvis F (2009) Rapid, nongenomic estrogen actions protect pancreatic islet survival. Islets 1:273–275
Liu S, Le May C, Wong WP, Ward RD, Clegg DJ et al (2009) Importance of extranuclear estrogen receptor-α and membrane G protein-coupled estrogen receptor in pancreatic islet survival. Diabetes 58:2292–2302
Liu S, Navarro G, Mauvais-Jarvis F (2010) Androgen excess produces systemic oxidative stress and predisposes to β-cell failure in female mice. PLoS One 5:e11302
Liu S, Kilic G, Meyers MS, Navarro G, Wang Y et al (2013) Oestrogens improve human pancreatic islet transplantation in a mouse model of insulin deficient diabetes. Diabetologia 56:370–381
Lombardo MF, De Angelis F, Bova L, Bartolini B, Bertuzzi F et al (2011) Human placental lactogen (hPL-A) activates signaling pathways linked to cell survival and improves insulin secretion in human pancreatic islets. Islets 3:250–258
Maclaren NK, Neufeld M, McLaughlin JV, Taylor G (1980) Androgen sensitization of streptozotocin-induced diabetes in mice. Diabetes 29:710–716
Mauvais-Jarvis F (2011) Estrogen and androgen receptors: regulators of fuel homeostasis and emerging targets for diabetes and obesity. Trends Endocrinol Metab 22:24–33
Moldrup A, Petersen ED, Nielsen JH (1993) Effects of sex and pregnancy hormones on growth hormone and prolactin receptor gene expression in insulin-producing cells. Endocrinology 133:1165–1172
Morimoto S, Cerbón MA, Alvarez-Alvarez A, Romero-Navarro G, Díaz-Sánchez V (2001) Insulin gene expression pattern in rat pancreas during the estrous cycle. Life Sci 68(26):2979–2985
Morimoto S, Mendoza-Rodriguez CA, Hiriart M, Larrieta ME, Vital P et al (2005) Protective effect of testosterone on early apoptotic damage induced by streptozotocin in rat pancreas. J Endocrinol 187:217–224
Navarro G, Mauvais-Jarvis F (2013) The role of the Androgen Receptor in β-cell function in male mice. Diabetes 62(Suppl 1):A571
Navarro G, Suhuan Liu P, De Gendt K, Verhoeven G, Mauvais-Jarvis F (2011) Importance of the β – cell Androgen Receptor in type 2 diabetes. Endocr Rev 32:OR22–OR23
Newberna N, Freemark M (2011) Placental hormones and the control of maternal metabolism and fetal growth. Curr Opin Endocrinol Diabetes Obes 18:409–416
Nieuwenhuizen AG, Schuiling GA, Liem SM, Moes H, Koiter TR et al (1999) Progesterone stimulates pancreatic cell proliferation in vivo. Eur J Endocrinol 140:256–263
O’Meara NM, Blackman JD, Ehrmann DA, Barnes RB, Jaspan JB et al (1993) Defects in β-cell function in functional ovarian hyperandrogenism. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 76:1241–1247
Oh JY, Barrett-Connor E, Wedick NM, Wingard DL (2002) Endogenous sex hormones and the development of type 2 diabetes in older men and women: the Rancho Bernardo study. Diabetes Care 25:55–60
Ouhtit A, Kelly PA, Morel G (1994) Visualization of gene expression of short and long forms of prolactin receptor in rat digestive tissues. Am J Physiol 266:G807–G815
Paik SG, Michelis MA, Kim YT, Shin S (1982) Induction of insulin-dependent diabetes by streptozotocin. Inhibition by estrogens and potentiation by androgens. Diabetes 31:724–729
Palomar-Morales M, Morimoto S, Mendoza-Rodriguez CA, Cerbon MA (2010) The protective effect of testosterone on streptozotocin-induced apoptosis in β cells is sex specific. Pancreas 39:193–200
Picard F, Wanatabe M, Schoonjans K, Lydon J, O’Malley BW et al (2002) Progesterone receptor knockout mice have an improved glucose homeostasis secondary to β-cell proliferation. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 99:15644–15648
Pitteloud N, Mootha VK, Dwyer AA, Hardin M, Lee H et al (2005) Relationship between testosterone levels, insulin sensitivity, and mitochondrial function in men. Diabetes Care 28:1636–1642
Ren Z, Zou C, Ji H, Zhang YA (2010) Oestrogen regulates proliferation and differentiation of human islet-derived precursor cells through oestrogen receptor α. Cell Biol Int 34:523–530
Salonia A, Lanzi R, Scavini M, Pontillo M, Gatti E et al (2006) Sexual function and endocrine profile in fertile women with type 1 diabetes. Diabetes Care 29:312–316
Schraenen A, Lemaire K, de Faudeur G, Hendrickx N, Granvik M et al (2010) Placental lactogens induce serotonin biosynthesis in a subset of mouse β cells during pregnancy. Diabetologia 53:2589–2599
Shao J, Qiao L, Friedman JE (2004) Prolactin, progesterone, and dexamethasone coordinately and adversely regulate glucokinase and cAMP/PDE cascades in MIN6 β-cells. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab 286:E304–E310
Sharma G, Prossnitz ER (2011) Mechanisms of estradiol-induced insulin secretion by the G protein-coupled estrogen receptor GPR30/GPER in pancreatic β-cells. Endocrinology 152:3030–3039
Sorenson RL, Brelje TC (1997) Adaptation of islets of langerhans to pregnancy: β-cell growth, enhanced insulin secretion and the role of lactogenic hormones. Horm Metab Res 29:301–307
Sorenson RL, Brelje TC (2009) Prolactin receptors are critical to the adaptation of islets to pregnancy. Endocrinology 150:1566–1569
Sorenson RL, Brelje TC, Roth C (1993) Effects of steroid and lactogenic hormones on islets of Langerhans: a new hypothesis for the role of pregnancy steroids in the adaptation of islets to pregnancy. Endocrinology 133:2227–2234
Soriano S, Ropero AB, Alonso-Magdalena P, Ripoll C, Quesada I et al (2009) Rapid regulation of KATP channel activity by 17β-estradiol in pancreatic β-cells involves the estrogen receptor β and the atrial natriuretic peptide receptor. Mol Endocrinol 23:1973–1982
Soriano S, Alonso-Magdalena P, Garcia-Arevalo M, Novials A, Muhammed SJ et al (2012) Rapid insulinotropic action of low doses of bisphenol-A on mouse and human islets of Langerhans: role of estrogen receptor β. PLoS One 7:e31109
Terra LF, Garay-Malpartida MH, Wailemann RA, Sogayar MC, Labriola L (2011) Recombinant human prolactin promotes human β cell survival via inhibition of extrinsic and intrinsic apoptosis pathways. Diabetologia 54:1388–1397
Tiano JP, Mauvais-Jarvis F (2012a) Importance of oestrogen receptors to preserve functional β-cell mass in diabetes. Nat Rev Endocrinol 8:342–351
Tiano JP, Mauvais-Jarvis F (2012b) Molecular mechanisms of estrogen receptors’ suppression of lipogenesis in pancreatic β-cells. Endocrinology 153:2997–3005
Tiano J, Mauvais-Jarvis F (2012c) Selective estrogen receptor modulation in pancreatic β-cells and the prevention of type 2 diabetes. Islets 4:173–176
Tiano JP, Delghingaro-Augusto V, Le May C, Liu S, Kaw MK et al (2011) Estrogen receptor activation reduces lipid synthesis in pancreatic islets and prevents β cell failure in rodent models of type 2 diabetes. J Clin Invest 121:3331–3342
Tiano J, Finan B, DiMarchi R, Mauvais-Jarvis F (2012) A Glucagon-like peptide-1-estrogen fusion peptide shows enhanced efficacy in preventing insulin-deficient diabetes in mice. Endocr Rev 33:OR21–OR26
Vasavada RC, Garcia-Ocana A, Zawalich WS, Sorenson RL, Dann P et al (2000) Targeted expression of placental lactogen in the β cells of transgenic mice results in β cell proliferation, islet mass augmentation, and hypoglycemia. J Biol Chem 275:15399–15406
Vetere A, Wagner BK (2012) Chemical methods to induce β-cell proliferation. Int J Endocrinol 2012:925143
Wong WP, Tiano JP, Liu S, Hewitt SC, Le May C et al (2010) Extranuclear estrogen receptor-α stimulates NeuroD1 binding to the insulin promoter and favors insulin synthesis. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 107:13057–13062
Yamabe N, Kang KS, Zhu BT (2010) Beneficial effect of 17β-estradiol on hyperglycemia and islet β-cell functions in a streptozotocin-induced diabetic rat model. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol 249:76–85
Yamamoto T, Ricordi C, Mita A, Miki A, Sakuma Y et al (2008) β-Cell specific cytoprotection by prolactin on human islets. Transplant Proc 40:382–383
Zitzmann M (2009) Testosterone deficiency, insulin resistance and the metabolic syndrome. Nat Rev Endocrinol 5:673–681
Zitzmann M, Faber S, Nieschlag E (2006) Association of specific symptoms and metabolic risks with serum testosterone in older men. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 91:4335–4343
Acknowledgments
This work was supported by grants from NIH RO1 DK074970, the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (1-2006-837) and the March of Dimes (6-FY7-312).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2015 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
About this entry
Cite this entry
Alvarez-Mercado, A.I., Navarro, G., Mauvais-Jarvis, F. (2015). Role of Reproductive Hormones in Islet Adaptation to Metabolic Stress. In: Islam, M. (eds) Islets of Langerhans. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6686-0_44
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6686-0_44
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-94-007-6685-3
Online ISBN: 978-94-007-6686-0
eBook Packages: Biomedical and Life SciencesReference Module Biomedical and Life Sciences