EZH2 deletion does not impact acinar regeneration but restricts progression to pancreatic cancer in mice.

Enhancer of Zeste Homologue 2 (EZH2) is part of the Polycomb Repressor Complex 2, which promotes trimethylation of lysine 27 on histone 3 (H3K27me3) and genes repression. EZH2 is overexpressed in many cancers and studies in mice attributed both pro-oncogenic and tumor suppressive functions to EZH2 in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). EZH2 deletion enhances de novo KRAS-driven neoplasia following pancreatic injury, while increased EZH2 expression in PDAC patients is correlated to poor prognosis, suggesting a context-dependant effect for EZH2 in PDAC progression.

A role and mechanism for redox sensing by SENP1 in β-cell responses to high fat feeding.

Pancreatic β-cells respond to metabolic stress by upregulating insulin secretion, however the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Here we show, in β-cells from overweight humans without diabetes and mice fed a high-fat diet for 2 days, insulin exocytosis and secretion are enhanced without increased Ca influx. RNA-seq of sorted β-cells suggests altered metabolic pathways early following high fat diet, where we find increased basal oxygen consumption and proton leak, but a more reduced cytosolic redox state.

Digest: Optimization of microbial community function through propagule strategies.

How do microbial communities interact with each other? Chang et al. devised two artificial selection experiments to better characterize the function of propagule strategies in microbiomes. Consistent with previous results and with conventional evolutionary biology theory, the authors found that high group level selection was associated with high heritability, and as heritability declined, so did selection.