FIG. 1.

Potential sites of action of PKCδ in regulating β-cell apoptosis due to chronic exposure to saturated fatty acids. Pathways that are well established, including those now arising from the study by Hennige et al., are shown with solid lines. More speculative links concerning how PKCδ might impact other pathways that regulate β-cell mass, including ER stress and akt signaling, are shown as dashed lines. As outlined in this article, it is possible some of these individual pathways might play greater or lesser roles depending on the duration and extent of fatty acid exposure.