β-cell knockout of SENP1 reduces responses to incretins and worsens oral glucose tolerance in high fat diet-fed mice

SUMOylation reduces oxidative stress and preserves islet mass at the expense of robust insulin secretion. To investigate a role for the deSUMOylating enzyme sentrin-specific protease 1 (SENP1) following metabolic stress, we put pancreas/gut-specific SENP1 knockout mice (pSENP1-KO) on a high fat diet (HFD). Male pSENP1-KO mice were more glucose intolerant following HFD than littermate controls, but only in response to oral glucose. A similar phenotype was observed in females. Plasma glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) and glucagon-like-peptide 1 (GLP-1) responses were identical in pSENP1-KO and -WT littermates, including the HFD-induced upregulation of GIP responses. Islet mass was not different, but insulin secretion and β-cell exocytotic responses to the GLP-1 receptor agonist Exendin-4 (Ex4) and GIP were impaired in islets lacking SENP1. Glucagon secretion from pSENP1-KO islets was also reduced, so we generated β-cell-specific SENP1 knockout mice (βSENP1-KO). These phenocopied the pSENP1-KO mice with selective impairment in oral glucose tolerance following HFD, preserved islet mass expansion, and impaired β-cell exocytosis and insulin secretion to Ex4 and GIP without changes in cAMP or Ca²⁺ levels. Thus, β-cell SENP1 limits oral glucose intolerance following HFD by ensuring robust insulin secretion at a point downstream of incretin signaling.