The alternative splicing landscape of pancreatic islets is dominated by an evolutionarily conserved program of microexons. These short exons encode only a few extra amino acids in genes related to hormone secretion. Microexons are important to islet function, affecting glycaemic control and the risk of type 2 diabetes.
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References
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This is a summary of: Juan-Mateu, J. et al. Pancreatic microexons regulate islet function and glucose homeostasis. Nat. Metab. https://doi.org/10.1038/s42255-022-00734-2 (2023).
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Islet microexons: tiny new players in glucose homeostasis. Nat Metab 5, 203–204 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s42255-023-00739-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s42255-023-00739-5
