Danielle Dean
Vanderbilt Diabetes Research and Training Center (DRTC)
Department of Medicine; Division of Diabetes, Endocrinology, and Metabolism
The Dean lab seeks to understand how nutritional and other environmental factors affect pancreatic islet cell function and proliferation. Islet alpha cells secrete glucagon in response to hypoglycemia leading to increased glucose output by liver, but persons with diabetes often have hyperglucagonemia further contributing to hyperglycemia. We recently described a novel hepatic-pancreatic islet alpha cell axis that we believe is important in diabetes. We are currently interested in 1) defining the mechanism of how amino acids are sensed by alpha cells to stimulate proliferation and glucagon secretion and 2) investigating the role of amino acids on alpha cell dysfunction in diabetes.
The Dean lab seeks to understand how nutritional and other environmental factors affect pancreatic islet cell function and proliferation. Islet alpha cells secrete glucagon in response to hypoglycemia leading to increased glucose output by liver, but persons with diabetes often have hyperglucagonemia further contributing to hyperglycemia. We recently described a novel hepatic-pancreatic islet alpha cell axis that we believe is important in diabetes. We are currently interested in 1) defining the mechanism of how amino acids are sensed by alpha cells to stimulate proliferation and glucagon secretion and 2) investigating the role of amino acids on alpha cell dysfunction in diabetes.
Keywords: Diabetes , pancreatic islet , Metabolism , Amino acids , Transport , Liver
Research Area: Cell Signaling , Computational and Systems Biology , Developmental Biology , Diabetes, Obesity, Metabolism , Proteomics/Metabolomics