Physically interacting beta-delta pairs in the regenerating pancreas revealed by single-cell sequencing

Abstract

Objectives: Until recently, communication between neighboring cells in islets of Langerhans was overlooked by genomic technologies, which require rigorous tissue dissociation into single cells.

Methods: We utilize sorting of physically interacting cells (PICs) with single-cell RNA-sequencing to systematically map cellular interactions in the endocrine pancreas after pancreatectomy.

Results: The pancreas cellular landscape features pancreatectomy associated heterogeneity of beta-cells, including an interaction-specific program between paired beta and delta-cells.

Conclusions: Our analysis suggests that the particular cluster of beta-cells that pairs with delta-cells benefits from stress protection, implying that the interaction between beta- and delta-cells might safeguard against pancreatectomy associated challenges. The work encourages testing the potential relevance of physically-interacting beta-delta-cells also in diabetes mellitus.

Keywords: Endocrine pancreas; Islet of Langerhans; Pancreas regeneration; Pancreatectomy; Single-cell RNA-sequencing; Single-cell transcriptome sequencing; beta-delta cell pair; scRNA-seq.