Cellular Autophagy in α Cells Plays a Role in the Maintenance of Islet Architecture

Autophagy is known to play a pivotal role in intracellular quality control through the degradation of subcellular damaged organelles and components. Whereas autophagy is essential for maintaining β-cell function in pancreatic islets, it remains unclear as to how the cellular autophagy affects the homeostasis and function of glucagon-secreting α cells. To investigate the role of autophagy in α cells, we generated a mutant mouse model lacking Atg7, a key molecule for autophagosome formation, specifically in α cells. Histological analysis demonstrated more glucagon-positive cells, with a multilayered structure, in the islets under Atg7 deficiency, although metabolic profiles, such as body weight, blood glucose, and plasma glucagon levels were comparable between Atg7-deficient mice and control littermates. Consistent with our previous findings that Atg7 deficiency suppressed β-cell proliferation, cellular proliferation was suppressed in Atg7-deficient α cells. These findings suggest that α-cell autophagy plays a role in maintaining α-cell area and normal islet architecture but appears to be dispensable for metabolic homeostasis.