Research

Hormonal

Islet amyloid polypeptide (IAPP) aggregation into small soluble oligomers causes beta-cell death via membrane disruption and oxidative stress, contributing to the loss of beta-cell mass in type 2 diabetes.

This research highlights that beta-cell failure in type 2 diabetes is actively driven by toxic protein aggregates (IAPP), not just passive aging. This suggests that therapies targeting amyloid formation (like pramlintide analogs or small molecule inhibitors) could preserve remaining beta-cell function, offering a pathway to slow disease progression beyond just lowering blood sugar.

GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
Recent in vitro studies suggest that the cytotoxic species responsible for islet amyloid-induced (cid:1)-cell death are formed during the very early stages of islet amyloid formation, when islet amyloid polypeptide aggregation commences.
Rebecca L. Hull et al. · The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism · 2004

Why this rating

Strong evidence from transgenic animal models and in vitro studies, though human causal proof is inferred from correlation and model systems.

Source

Islet Amyloid: A Critical Entity in the Pathogenesis of Type 2 Diabetes

Rebecca L. Hull et al. · The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism · 2004

DOI 10.1210/jc.2004-0405

narrative_reviewCited 584×
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DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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