Jpn. J. Pharmacol. 78 (1), 63-67 (1998)


Effect of Recombinant Human Insulin-Like Growth Factor-I on Expression of Glucose Transporters, GLUT 2 and GLUT 4, in Streptozotocin-Diabetic Rat

Takashi Asada (1), Toshikazu Ogawa (2), Michio Iwai (3) and Masakazu Kobayashi (4)



(1) Molecular Biological Research Laboratories and (2) Pharmacological Research Laboratories, Fujisawa Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Osaka 532-8514, Japan
(3) Department of Chemistry, Marine Technical College, Ashiya 659-0026, Japan
(4) Fujisawa Research Institute of America, Inc., Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60201-3135, USA

Abstract: We investigated the effect of recombinant insulin-like growth factor-I (rhIGF-I) on the expression of glucose transporters, GLUT 2 in the liver and GLUT 4 in the heart, in streptozotocin (STZ)-diabetic rats by the reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and immunohistochemistry. GLUT 2 and its mRNA in the liver was elevated, whereas GLUT 4 and its mRNA in the heart were decreased in STZ-diabetic rats. A two-week treatment with rhIGF-I mostly restored the expression of GLUT 2 and GLUT 4 to normal rat level. We demonstrated that the effect of IGF-I on the expressions of GLUTs was almost the same as that of insulin.

Keywords: Glucose transporter, Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), Immunohistochemistry


Copyright© The Japanese Pharmacological Society 1998

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