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The release of insulin from pancreatic β-cells is regulated by a considerable number of G protein–coupled receptors. During the past several years, we have focused on the physiological importance of β-cell M3 muscarinic acetylcholine receptors (M3Rs). At the molecular level, the M3R selectively activates G proteins of the Gq family. Phenotypic analysis of several M3R mutant mouse models, including a mouse strain that lacks M3Rs only in pancreatic β-cells, indicated that β-cell M3Rs play a key role in maintaining blood glucose levels within a normal range. Additional studies with transgenic M3R mouse models strongly suggest that strategies aimed to enhance signaling through β-cell M3Rs may prove useful in the treatment of type 2 diabetes. More recently, we analyzed transgenic mice that expressed an M3R-based designer receptor in a β-cell–specific fashion, which enabled us to chronically activate a β-cell Gq-coupled receptor by a drug that is otherwise pharmacologically inert. Drug-dependent activation of this designer receptor stimulated the sequential activation of Gq, phospholipase C, ERK1/2, and insulin receptor substrate 2 signaling, thus triggering a series of events that greatly improved β-cell function. Most importantly, chronic stimulation of this pathway protected mice against experimentally induced diabetes and glucose intolerance, induced either by streptozotocin or by the consumption of an energy-rich, high-fat diet. Because β-cells are endowed with numerous receptors that mediate their cellular effects via activation of Gq-type G proteins, these findings provide a rational basis for the development of novel antidiabetic drugs targeting this class of receptors.

Minireview: Novel Aspects of M3 Muscarinic Receptor Signaling in Pancreatic β-Cells