Title: Investigating the Role of ILDR2 in Hepatic Lipid Metabolism and Pancreas Islet Function
Description: Metabolic syndrome defines a cluster of related comorbidities including obesity, Type 2 diabetes, fatty liver disease, and cardiovascular diseases. Increasingly prevalent in Western countries, metabolic syndrome diseases are a major focus of efforts to understand the complex genetics that underlie disease risk and severity. Immunoglobulin domain-containing receptor 2 (ILDR2) is an ER transmembrane protein first identified as a candidate genetic modifier of diabetes susceptibility in the context of obesity. Obese, leptin-deficient mice with hypomorphic Ildr2 expression had hypoinsulinemic hyperglycemia with reduced beta cell mass, suggesting that ILDR2 plays a role in maintain beta cell mass and function. Further studies proposed a role for ILDR2 in hepatic lipid metabolism as Ildr2 shRNA-mediated knockdown (KD) caused hepatic steatosis in mice. The goal of this thesis work is to clarify the role of ILDR2 in diabetes and hepatic steatosis in an effort to elucidate the specific mechanism of ILDR2.

We developed a conditional Ildr2 knockout (KO) allele, enabling tissue-specific ablation in mice. Liver-specific and hepatocyte-specific KO mice did not develop hepatic steatosis. However, liver-specific KO mice treated with adenoviral Ildr2 shRNA accumulated hepatic triglycerides, suggesting off-target effects of the shRNA. Using RNA sequencing and sequence alignment, several gene candidates for shRNA off-targeting effect were identified. Future studies are proposed to elucidate role(s) of these genes in the previously described phenotype of Ildr2 KD mice. I conclude that Ildr2 ablation may contribute to the development of hepatic steatosis, but does not play a major role in hepatic lipid metabolism. We also developed beta cell-specific (RIP2-cre) and pancreas-specific (Pdx-cre) Ildr2 KO mice and characterized them for diabetic phenotypes. Pancreas-specific KO mice displayed impaired glucose tolerance, reduced insulin secretion and decreased calcium signaling in islets. These results confirm a role for ILDR2 in islet cell function.

Experiments performed in RIP2-cre beta cell-specific KO mice were confounded by effects of the Cre construct, prohibiting definitive conclusions about the role of ILDR2 in the beta cell. Additionally, because Ildr2 is expressed at low levels in beta cells, we propose that ILDR2 may function in islet macrophages. Overall, this work defines the metabolic functions of ILDR2, clarifying its role in hepatic lipid metabolism, and confirming its role in islet cell function. In addition, I discuss preliminary evidence suggesting that ILDR2 may function in the brain to regulate body weight and metabolism.