Mitochondrial network regulation and its potential interference with inflammatory signals in pancreatic beta cells

Mitochondria fulfil multiple tasks in nutrient metabolism, energy production, redox homeostasis and stress response, and are essential for pancreatic beta cell function. The dynamism and health of the mitochondrial network is regulated by fission- and fusion-triggering factors and by a quality control system that removes dysfunctional organelles. Alongside the role of mitochondria in regulating apoptotic cell death mediated primarily via production of reactive oxygen species and release of cytochrome c, there is evidence of other links between mitochondria and inflammation that have implications for cell viability. This review briefly outlines two pathways that are potentially vital for pancreatic beta cell function. The first concerns the regulation of Parkin, a protein that acts, not only as a central player in regulating mitophagy, but also as an activator of the NF-ĸB pathway. The fact that expression of optic atrophy protein 1 (OPA1), a mitochondrial fusion inducer and master mitochondrial cristae biogenetic factor, is increased following NF-ĸB activation highlights a point of mitochondrial control that might be influenced by TNFα signalling. A second axis of interest is suggested by IL-6-mediated upregulation of the fission inducer FIS1 alongside downregulation of mitofusin 2 (MFN2), a guard of mitochondrial fusion and metabolism and an inhibitor of apoptosis. This review summarises a presentation given at the ‘Islet inflammation in type 2 diabetes’ symposium at the 2015 annual meeting of the EASD. It is accompanied two other reviews on topics from this symposium (by Marc Donath, DOI: 10.​1007/​s00125-016-3873-z, and Jerry Nadler and colleagues, DOI: 10.​1007/​s00125-016-3890-y) and a commentary by the Session Chair, Piero Marchetti (DOI: 10.​1007/​s00125-016-3875-x).