In vivo regeneration of β cells provides hope for self-renewal of functional insulin-secreting cells following β-cell failure, a historically fatal condition now sustainable only by administration of exogenous insulin. Despite advances in the treatment of diabetes mellitus, the path toward endogenous renewal of β-cell populations has remained elusive. Intensive efforts have focused on elucidating pancreatic transcriptional programs that can drive the division and (trans-)differentiation of non-β cells to produce insulin. A surprise has been the identification of an essential role of the molecular circadian clock in the regulation of competent insulin-producing β cells. In this issue of Genes & Development, work by Petrenko and colleagues (pp. 1650–1665) now shows a requirement for the intrinsic clock in the regenerative capacity of insulin-producing cells following genetic ablation of β cells. These studies raise the possibility that enhancing core clock activity may provide an adjuvant in cell replacement therapies.

中文翻译：

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β细胞再生的时间窗口

β 细胞的体内再生为 β 细胞衰竭后功能性胰岛素分泌细胞的自我更新提供了希望，这是一种历史上致命的疾病，现在只能通过施用外源性胰岛素来维持。尽管在治疗糖尿病方面取得了进展，但通往 β 细胞群内源性更新的道路仍然难以捉摸。密集的努力集中在阐明可以驱动非β细胞分裂和（反式）分化以产生胰岛素的胰腺转录程序。令人惊讶的是，分子生物钟在调节有能力的产生胰岛素的 β 细胞中发挥着重要作用。在本期《基因与发育》中，Petrenko 及其同事的工作（第 1650-1665 页）现在表明，β 细胞遗传消融后，产生胰岛素的细胞的再生能力需要内在时钟。这些研究提出了增强核心时钟活动可能为细胞替代疗法提供辅助的可能性。