Calcium balance in insulin-making pancreatic beta cells and its role in type 2 diabetes
Official title: Regulation of calcium homeostasis in the pancreatic beta cell
Funded at Rlr VA Medical Center · NIH-11223300 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This work looks at whether faulty calcium signaling in insulin-producing pancreatic beta cells contributes to type 2 diabetes and whether men and women are affected differently.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Rlr VA Medical Center NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Indianapolis, United States) |
| Project start | April 1, 2013 |
| Project end | September 30, 2029 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| NIH project number | 5I01BX001733-13 |
| Project ID | NIH-11223300 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Adults with type 2 diabetes, especially women and patients seen at the Indianapolis VA Medical Center, would be most relevant for participation or future clinical follow-up.
✕Less likely to help
People without type 2 diabetes—for example those with type 1 diabetes or non–beta-cell causes of high blood sugar—are unlikely to receive direct benefit from this line of research.
What this research studies
Researchers are studying how a process called store-operated calcium entry (SOCE) helps pancreatic beta cells refill their calcium stores and make insulin. They use mice engineered to lack the calcium sensor STIM1 specifically in beta cells and feed them a high-fat diet to model type 2 diabetes, comparing outcomes between female and male animals. The team measures blood sugar control, insulin release, and beta cell mass, and examines human and rodent tissue to see if the same calcium problems occur in people with diabetes. Together these lab and tissue studies aim to show whether fixing calcium entry can protect or restore beta cell function.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could point to new ways to preserve or restore insulin-making beta cells and lead to treatments tailored by sex for people with type 2 diabetes.
How similar studies have gone: Previous laboratory work, including the team's prior results, has found altered SOCE in diabetic beta cells, but turning these findings into effective therapies remains largely untested.
Where this research is happening
-
Rlr VA Medical Center
Indianapolis, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Evans-Molina, Carmella — Rlr VA Medical Center
- Study coordinator: Evans-Molina, Carmella
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.