mTORC in β cells: more Than Only Recognizing Comestibles.

The pathways regulating pancreatic β cell survival in diabetes are poorly understood. Here, Chau et al. (2017. J. Cell Biol. https://doi.org/10.1083/jcb.201701085) demonstrate that mTOR regulates the apoptotic machinery through binding to the ChREBP-Mlx complex to suppress TXNIP, thereby protecting pancreatic β cells in the diabetic setting by inhibiting oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction.