Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41854718›Full record

ArticleJCI insight2026

Proteomic analyses of human islets reveal potential markers of β cell dysfunction during prediabetes.

Chiara Maria Assunta Cefalo, Teresa Mezza, Giuseppe Quero, Sergio Alfieri, Donatella Lucchetti, Filomena Colella, Alessandro Sgambato, Wei-Jun Qian, Andrea Mari, Alfredo Pontecorvi and 2 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in JCI insight, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

12 authors.

Chiara Maria Assunta CefaloDipartimento di Medicina e Chirurgia Traslazionale, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome, Italy.
Teresa MezzaDipartimento di Medicina e Chirurgia Traslazionale, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome, Italy.
Giuseppe QueroDipartimento di Medicina e Chirurgia Traslazionale, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome, Italy.
Sergio AlfieriDipartimento di Medicina e Chirurgia Traslazionale, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome, Italy.
Donatella LucchettiDipartimento di Medicina e Chirurgia Traslazionale, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome, Italy.
Filomena ColellaMultiplex Spatial Profiling Facility, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Agostino Gemelli IRCCS, Rome, Italy.
Alessandro SgambatoDipartimento di Medicina e Chirurgia Traslazionale, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome, Italy.
Wei-Jun QianBiological Sciences Division, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington, USA.
Andrea MariInstitute of Neuroscience, National Research Council, Padova, Italy.
Alfredo PontecorviDipartimento di Medicina e Chirurgia Traslazionale, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome, Italy.
Andrea GiaccariDipartimento di Medicina e Chirurgia Traslazionale, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome, Italy.
Rohit N KulkarniSection on Islet Cell and Regenerative Biology, Joslin Diabetes Center, Department of Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Harvard Stem Cell Institute, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The mechanisms driving progressive β cell dysfunction in type 2 diabetes remain incompletely understood. This study aimed to identify pancreatic islet proteome changes that could predict diabetes onset. We isolated islets from individuals without diabetes undergoing partial pancreatectomy, previously characterized for glucose tolerance, insulin sensitivity, and insulin secretion, using laser capture microdissection, and analyzed them via high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. Proteomic analysis revealed that individuals with impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) had reductions in proteins regulating glycolysis (PGK1, G3P), lipid metabolism (ACBP, ARF1), glucose transport (14-3-3B), and insulin secretion (STARD10, CAPDS) compared with normal glucose-tolerant (NGT) individuals. Additionally, IGT islets showed impaired expression of proteins involved in glucose- and incretin-stimulated insulin response (CREB1, IQGA1). Stratification by β cell glucose sensitivity (βGS) indicated that individuals with lower βGS exhibited reduced levels of insulin maturation (ERO1B) and antiapoptotic proteins (CASP8, PAK2, SKP1), along with increased SEL1L, a factor promoting endocrine precursor differentiation. These findings suggest that early defects in glucose metabolism and insulin secretion characterize IGT, while reduced βGS may trigger compensatory mechanisms, through enhanced β cell survival or neogenesis, to delay type 2 diabetes progression. Overall, proteomic alterations in prediabetic islets provide potential early predictive markers and targets for interventions aimed at preserving β cell function.

Indexed as

Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2Insulin-Secreting CellsIslets of LangerhansPrediabetic StateProteomicsAdultBiomarkersFemaleGlucoseGlucose IntoleranceHumansInsulinInsulin SecretionMaleMiddle AgedBiomarkersGlucoseInsulinDiabetesEndocrinologyIslet cellsMetabolismProteomics

Identifiers

PMID41854718
PMCPMC13232019

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.