# Primary Cilia in Human T1D Pancreas

> **NIH NIH R03** · WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $157,500

## Abstract

Abstract
Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is a serious autoimmune disease resulting from immune destruction of insulin-producing
pancreatic β-cells. While T1D is well-studied and indeed has been cured many times in rodent models, these
findings have not always translated to the human disease. A fundamental barrier to curing human T1D is the
incomplete understanding of its disease pathogenesis in the human host. We have pinpointed a role by
primary cilia in the pancreas by mediating both β-cell insulin secretion and crosstalk among different cell types,
two aspects of pancreatic function that are critical to T1D disease initiation and progression. These results lead
us to propose that pancreatic cilia may be a key determinant of the T1D disease course and thus represents a
new therapeutic target. However, to-date there is very limited information about primary cilia expression,
distribution, and morphology in the normal human endocrine and exocrine pancreas, and much less known
about disease settings such as T1D. To address this knowledge gap, we will implement a novel, validated
high-resolution imaging strategy, developed by the Hughes lab in collaboration with the Washington University
Center for Cellular Imaging, to examine primary cilia on multiple cell populations in healthy versus T1D human
pancreatic tissue. We hypothesize that applying our highly sensitive microscopy method to human pancreatic
tissue specimens will allow cilia identification in both the endocrine and exocrine compartments of the
pancreas, provide important insights on donor heterogeneity, and improve understanding of how pancreatic
cilia are affected by the T1D disease process. We will test our hypothesis through two specific aims: 1)
examine primary cilia distribution in human endocrine islets and compare differences between healthy vs.
diabetic donors; 2) map the cilia distribution in exocrine compartments, which are much less studied in the
T1D field. Integration of our cellular imaging expertise, human pancreas specimens, and a novel focus on
primary cilia will advance understanding of pancreatic cilia function in health and disease.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10151348
- **Project number:** 1R03DK127748-01
- **Recipient organization:** WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Jing Wang Hughes
- **Activity code:** R03 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $157,500
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2020-09-15 → 2022-09-14

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10151348

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10151348, Primary Cilia in Human T1D Pancreas (1R03DK127748-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10151348. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*