Barak Blum

The paper identifies distinct cellular sources of Slit2/3 in the adult pancreas and shows their expression dynamics are independent of Robo2 receptor expression in islet cells.

The paper identifies cell type-specific and sex-specific transcriptional dysregulation in islets of Langerhans in Down syndrome mice, linking it to increased T2D risk.

This study shows that Robo2 in adult beta cells actively maintains islet architecture, as its deletion leads to loss of architecture without affecting beta cell identity or function.

The paper tests two models of beta cell dedifferentiation in diabetes using lineage tracing and RNA-seq in mice, showing dedifferentiation is not a reversal of development but varies by diabetes type.

This study identifies Slit2/3 signals from pancreatic mesenchyme as guiding factors for islet morphogenesis by repelling β cells.

This study shows that loss of Robo1 and Robo2 in beta cells disrupts synchronized calcium oscillations in islets of Langerhans in vivo, indicating that islet architecture is essential for this coordination.