A Window In Time For Beta-Cell Regeneration

In vivo regeneration of beta cells provides hope for selfrenewal of functional insulin-secreting cells following beta-cell failure, a historically fatal condition now sustainable only by administration of exogenous insulin. Despite advances in the treatment of diabetes mellitus, the path toward endogenous renewal of beta-cell populations has remained elusive. Intensive efforts have focused on elucidating pancreatic transcriptional programs that can drive the division and (trans-)differentiation of non-beta cells to produce insulin. A surprise has been the identification of an essential role of the molecular circadian clock in the regulation of competent insulin-producing beta cells. In this issue of Genes & Development, work by Petrenko and colleagues (pp. 1650-1665) now shows a requirement for the intrinsic clock in the regenerative capacity of insulin-producing cells following genetic ablation of beta cells. These studies raise the possibility that enhancing core clock activity may provide an adjuvant in cell replacement therapies.