Agaricus bisporus lectins mediates islet β-cell proliferation through regulation of cell cycle proteins

This study was designed to determine the therapeutic effect of Agaricus bisporus lectins (ABL) by the regeneration of beta-cells in mice following 70% partial pancreatectomy (PPx), and to explore the mechanisms of ABL-induced beta-cell proliferation. Adult C57BL/6J mice were subjected to a 70% PPx operation or a sham operation, and mice received 10 mg/kg body weight of ABL or saline immediately after surgery. Blood glucose concentrations and insulin secretion levels were measured. To determine the growth rates of beta-cells and duct cells, immunohistological analysis of pancreatic tissues was performed. Key cell cycle proteins and beta-cell specific genes were measured by realtime polymerase chain reaction, Western blotting and immunohistological staining. In this study, a significant decrease in blood glucose concentrations, increase in glucose tolerance and expanded beta-cell mass were observed in the ABL-treated mice. At the same time, after ABL treatment, increased beta-cell proliferation rates were observed. Further studies on the expression of cyclin D1, cyclin D2 and Cdk4 demonstrated that these genes were significantly up-regulated in the ABL-treated mice. Meanwhile, Cdk4 activity was also enhanced. Moreover, the expression of PDX-1 (pancreatic and duodenal homeobox 1), Ngn3 (neurogenin 3), insulin, GLUT-1 (glucose transporter 1) and glucokinase was also increased in the ABL-treated mice. These findings demonstrate that ABL administration could partially reverse the impaired beta-cell growth potential by regulating cell cycle proteins. Induction of islet beta-cell proliferation by ABL suggests the therapeutic potential in preventing and/or treating diabetes.