Tead1 reciprocally regulates adult β-cell proliferation and function to maintain glucose homeostasis

Abstract

Proliferative quiescence in β-cells is required to maintain functional competence. While this presents a significant hurdle in regenerative therapy for diabetes, the molecular underpinnings of this reciprocal relationship remain unclear. Here, we demonstrate that TEAD1, the transcription effector of the mammalian-Hippo pathway, drives developmental stage-specific β-cell proliferative capacity in conjunction with its functional maturation. TEAD1 promotes adult β-cell mature identity by direct transcriptional control of a network of critical β-cell transcription factors, including, Pdx1, Nkx6.1, and MafA, while its regulation of Cdkn2a maintains proliferative quiescence. Consequently, mice with either constitutive or inducible genetic deletion of TEAD1 in β-cells developed overt diabetes due to a severe loss of secretory function despite induction of proliferation. Furthermore, we show that TEAD1 has a similar regulatory role in human β-cells. Consistent with this function in β-cells, variants in TEAD1 have been associated with c-HOMA-B in American Indians. We propose that TEAD1 is an essential intrinsic molecular switch coordinating adult β-cell proliferative quiescence with mature identity and its differential modulation may be necessary to overcome the challenge of inducing proliferation with functional competence in human beta cells.