1637-P: Role of mTORC1 Regulation in the T1D Organ Donor Pancreas

Current evidence suggests that alteration in cellular metabolism leads to pancreatic β-cell dysfunction and loss in type 1 diabetes (T1D). The mammalian target of rapamycin, mTOR is a key regulator of cell survival and growth in response to intracellular energy levels, nutrients, and growth factor signaling. Dysregulated mTOR complex 1 (mTORC1) has been implicated in β-cell loss and dysfunction in T2D but has not been well studied in T1D. We hypothesized that genes associated with three pathways involved in the regulation of mTORC1 would display altered expression in T1D organ donor pancreata compared to nondiabetic controls. We isolated total RNA from 30 T1D and 30 unaffected control human organ donor pancreata obtained from the Network for Pancreatic Organ donors with Diabetes (nPOD) program and performed real-time qPCR on 26 genes related to these pathways, all of which demonstrated significant (p<0.05) induction. In relation to cellular energy balance, we observed induction o...