STARD10 regulates human pancreatic β cell differentiation and triglyceride metabolism
The STARD10 gene encodes for a lipid transfer protein and is associated with type 2 diabetes (T2D) risk and β cell function. However, the role of STARD10 in human β cell development and function are still unclear. Here, we deleted STARD10 in human embryonic stem cells and differentiated them into β-like cells. The deletion of STARD10 reduced the formation of INS<sup>+</sup> β-like cells and proliferation. Lipidomics analyses revealed that STARD10-null β-like cells had higher triglyceride levels. Consistently, the expression levels of ETFB, which is involved in fatty acid β-oxidation, were severely reduced in STARD10-null β-like cells. STARD10-null β-like cells also had reduced glycolytic function, mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation, and palmitate oxidation, which can likely contribute to slower proliferation and β cell dysfunction. Overall, our findings provided further insights into the role of STARD10 in human β cell development and function, and how its loss-of-function can contribute to increased T2D risk.
Authors
- Peter I. Benke (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0008-0380-6831)
- Hwee Hui Lau (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1227-7798)
- Adrian Kee Keong Teo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5901-7075)
- Federico Torta (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7545-7484)
- Shawn Hoon (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3892-3332)
- Nur Shabrina Amirruddin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6170-1386)
- Sneha Muralidharan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6383-4289)
- Ming Hu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3791-1778)
- Euodia Xi Hui Lim
- Guy A. Rutter
- Andreas Alvin P. Soetedjo
- Natasha H.J. Ng
- Wei Xuan Tan
Institutions
- National University of Singapore (SG)
- Nanyang Technological University (SG)
- Genomics (United Kingdom) (GB)
- Signature Research (United States) (US)
- Imperial College London (GB)
- Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology (SG)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Stem Cell Reports
- Published
- 2026-02-12
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.stemcr.2026.102815
- Primary Topic
- Pancreatic function and diabetes
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development
- Wellcome Trust
- European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations
- Duke-NUS Medical School
- Diabetes UK
- European Commission
- National Research Foundation
- National University of Singapore
- Agence Nationale de la Recherche
- Medical Research Council
- National Medical Research Council
- Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology