As a member of nuclear receptor superfamily, farnesoid X receptor (FXR) has been shown to regulate numerous metabolic pathways, which include playing an important role in bile acid metabolism, maintaining lipid and glucose homeostasis when FXR is activated. With the prevalence of the glucose and lipids disorder, FXR attracts increasing attention. It may be a potential target for the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus and lipid disorders.
Bile Acids and Salts ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 ; Glucose ; metabolism ; Homeostasis ; Humans ; Lipid Metabolism ; Receptors, Cytoplasmic and Nuclear ; metabolism

This study is to evaluate the effects of the metformin (Met) on β cell function of diabetic KKAy mice. Female diabetic KKAy mice selected by insulin tolerance test (ITT) were divided randomly into two groups. Con group was orally administered by gavage with water, Met group with metformin hydrochloride at a dose of 0.2 g x kg(-1) for about 12 weeks. ITT and glucose tolerance tests (OGTT) were determined. Beta cell function was assessed by hyperglycemic clamp. Pancreatic biochemical indicators were tested. The changes of gene and protein expression in the pancreas and islets were also analyzed by Real-Time-PCR and immunostaining. Met significantly improved glucose intolerance and insulin resistance in KKAy mice. Fasting plasma glucose and insulin levels were also decreased. In addition, Met markedly increased glucose infusion rate (GIR) and elevated the Ist phase and maximum insulin secretion during clamp. It showed that Met decreased TG content and iNOS activities and increased Ca(2+) -Mg(2+)-ATPase activity in pancreas. Islets periphery was improved, and down-regulation of glucagon and up-regulated insulin protein expressions were found after Met treatment. Pancreatic mRNA expressions of inflammation factors including TLR4, NF-κB, JNK, IL-6 and TNF-α were down-regulated, p-NF-κB p65 protein levels also down-regulated by Met. And mRNA expressions of ion homeostasis involved in insulin secretion including SERCA2 and Kir6.2 were up-regulated by Met. Met increased SIRT5 expression level in pancreas of KKAy mice under the hyperglycemic clamp. These results indicated that chronic administration of Met regulated pancreatic inflammation generation, ion and hormone homeostasis and improved β cell function of diabetic KKAy mice.
Animals ; Blood Glucose ; Diabetes Mellitus, Experimental ; drug therapy ; Down-Regulation ; Female ; Glucose Tolerance Test ; Homeostasis ; Inflammation ; drug therapy ; Insulin ; secretion ; Insulin Resistance ; Insulin-Secreting Cells ; drug effects ; Interleukin-6 ; metabolism ; Metformin ; pharmacology ; Mice ; NF-kappa B ; metabolism ; Pancreas ; drug effects ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha ; metabolism

OBJECTIVETo study the effect of Mudan Granule (MD) on the glucose metabolism and beta cell function in monosodium glutamate (MSG) induced obese mice with insulin resistance (IR).

METHODSMSG obese mice were induced by subcutaneous injecting MSG (4 g/kg for 7 successive days in neonatal ICR mice). Forty MSG mice with IR features were recruited and divided into four groups according to body weight, fasting blood glucose, triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (TC), and the percentage of blood glucose decreased within 40 min in the IR test, i.e., the model group (Con), the low dose MD group, the high dose MD group, and the Metformin group (Met). Besides, another 10 ICR mice were recruited as the normal control group (Nor). The water solvent of 2.5 g/kg MD or 5 g/kg MD was respectively administered to mice in the low dose MD group and the high dose MD group. Metformin hydrochloride was given to mice in the Met group at 0.2 g/kg body weight. Equal dose solvent distilled water was administered to mice in the Nor group and the Con group by gastrogavage, once per day. All medication was lasted for 15 weeks. Insulin tolerance test (ITT) and oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) were performed after 6 weeks of treatment. Beta cell function was assessed by hyperglycemic clamp technique. The morphological changes in the pancreas were evaluated by hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining. Changes of iNOS, NF-kappaB p65, and p-NF-kappaB p65 in the pancreas were tested.

RESULTSCompared with the Nor group, the blood glucose level, AUC, and fasting blood insulin, ONOO-contents, iNOS activities, and the expression of iNOS, NF-kappaB p65 subunit, pNF-kappaB p65 subunit obviously increased; decreased percentage of blood glucose within 40 min in ITT, glucose infusion rate (GIR), Clamp 1 min insulin, and Max-Insulin obviously decreased in the Con group (P < 0.05, P < 0.01). Compared with the Con group, the aforesaid indices could be improved in the Met group (P < 0.05, P < 0.01). In the low dose MD group, AUC, iNOS activities, and the expression of iNOS and p-NF-kappaB p65 subunit obviously decreased; percentage of blood glucose within 40 min in ITT and GIR obviously increased (P < 0.05, P < 0.01). In the high dose MD group, AUC, ONOO-contents, iNOS activities, and the expression of iNOS, NF-kappaB p65 subunit, and p-NF-KB p65 subunit obviously decreased; percentage of blood glucose within 40 min in ITT, Max-Insulin, and GIR obviously increased (P < 0.05, P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONMD could significantly improve IR and functional disorder of 3 cells in MSG obese mice, which might be associated with lowering inflammatory reaction in the pancreas.

Animals ; Disease Models, Animal ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; pharmacology ; Female ; Insulin Resistance ; Insulin-Secreting Cells ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Male ; Metformin ; pharmacology ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred ICR ; Mice, Obese ; Obesity ; chemically induced ; metabolism ; Pancreas ; cytology ; drug effects ; Sodium Glutamate

OBJECTIVE To investigate the effects and mechanisms by which JQ-R regulated the glucose metabolism and improves insulin sensitivity in diabetic KKAy mice and insulin-resistant L6 myotubes. JQ-R is a mixture of refined extracts from Coptis chinensis, Astragalus membranaceus and Lonicera japonica, three major herbs of JinQi-JiangTang tablet. METHODS Diabetic KKAy mice were adminis-tered JQ-R (100 mg·kg-1or 200 mg·kg-1BW) for 10 weeks. Levels of fasting plasma glucose, lipids, insulin and hemoglobin A1c were monitored.Systemic insulin sensitivity was quantified using the eugly-cemic clamp.The effect of JQ-R on the expressions of the enzymes involved in insulin signaling,oxidative stress and inflammation(Akt,NFκB,IΚBα, JNK, Erk, p38 MAPK) were measured in L6 insulin-resis-tant myotubes. RESULTS JQ-R showed beneficial effects on glucose homeostasis and insulin sensi-tivity in diabetic KKAy mice after 10 weeks treatment. JQ-R also ameliorated the plasma lipid profiles. Moreover,JQ-R can directly reverse the decreased activity of SOD and increased MDA levels as well as activity of iNOS in insulin resistant L6 cell induced with palmitic acid(PA).The expressions of phos-phorylation of NF-κB p65,IκBα,JNK1/2 and Erk1/2 were also decreased after JQ-R treatment.It was also shown that the insulin-stimulated glucose uptake increased significantly after JQ-R treatment,with upregulated expression of phosphorylation of Akt. CONCLUSION JQ-R ameliorated the glucose and lipid metabolism and insulin sensitivity in diabetic KKAy mice. In vitro treatment with JQ-R directly enhanced insulin stimulated glucose uptake in insulin resistant myotubes with improved insulin signal-ling and inflammatory response and oxidative stress state.

AlM:To explore the primary culture conditions for four kinds of lens epithelial cells ( LECs) of rat, rabbit, dog, and human, and measure their growth characteristics.METHODS:The lens capsule or anterior capsular tissue of rat, rabbit, dog and patient were removed by different methods, and they were cut into tiny pieces for primary culture by modified tissue adherent method. The morphological features of four kinds of LECs were observed under an inverted microscope.RESULTS: Four kinds of LECs of rat, rabbit, dog and human could be cultured primarily by tissue adherent method. With the evolution of tissue source, the adherent capacity of LECs gradually strengthened, cells form were changed from irregular polygon to oval, nucleus rounded and cytoplasm enriched gradually. Four kinds of LECs had fibrotic changes after several passages.CONCLUSlON: LECs of rat, rabbit, dog and human can be primarily cultured. This method lays the foundation for the mechanism research of caratact and related fields on the cellular and molecular levels.

To study the potential effect of Dioscorea nipponica(DN) in intervening peripheral system of rats based on metabolomic analysis. The identification of the potential intervention targets of DN in peripheral system may facilitate its safe application and therapeutic potential exploitation. Totally 20 male SD rats were randomly divided into the blank group and the DN-treated groups, with 10 rates in each group. The DN-treated group was orally administrated with DN extracts once a day for 5 days, with the dose of 80 mg x kg(-1) (equivalent to 15 g crude drug in human), and the blank group was given equal volume of saline once a day for 5 days. Heart, liver, spleen, lung, and kidney tissues and serum samples were collected from each rat 24 h later after the last administration. The ultra-performance liquid chromatography/quadrupole time-of-flight-mass spectrometry based metabolomics was used to investigate the effect of DN in intervening peripheral system of rats. After the treatment with DN, 5 modulated metabolites in heart tissue, 6 in liver tissue, 5 in spleen tissue, 3 in lung tissue, 5 in kidney tissue and 6 in serum sample were identified and considered as the potential intervention targets of DN. Effect of DN in regulating some endogenous metabolites was beneficial for protecting peripheral system, while that in other endogenous metabolites produced potential toxicity to peripheral system. The metabolomic analysis revealed the coexistence of protective and toxic effects of DN on peripheral system, which may be a practical guidance for its safe application and beneficial to the expansion of its application scope.
Animals ; Dioscorea ; chemistry ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; pharmacology ; Heart ; drug effects ; Kidney ; chemistry ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Liver ; chemistry ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Lung ; chemistry ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Male ; Metabolomics ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Spleen ; drug effects ; metabolism

Glycogen synthase kinase-3 (GSK-3) is a serine/threonine kinase, originally identified as a protein kinase by its ability to phosphorylate and inactivate glycogen synthase. It was found that the overexpression of GSK-3 is associated with some diseases, such as diabetes, Alzheimer disease and other neurodegenerative diseases. Some pharmacological inhibitors of GSK-3 have been demonstrated to mimic insulin signaling, adjust glycogen synthesis and glucose metabolism, and improve insulin resistance. So GSK-3 inhibitors are realized as a new approach of treating diabetes. This review summarizes current advances in research of GSK-3 inhibitors as a new therapeutic approach for diabetes.
Alzheimer Disease ; drug therapy ; enzymology ; Animals ; Blood Glucose ; metabolism ; Diabetes Mellitus ; drug therapy ; enzymology ; Enzyme Inhibitors ; therapeutic use ; Glycogen ; metabolism ; Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3 ; antagonists & inhibitors ; metabolism ; physiology ; Humans ; Insulin ; metabolism ; Insulin Resistance ; Signal Transduction

As a member of G protein coupled-receptors superfamily, free fatty acid receptor 1 (FFAR1), is also known as GPR40, has been shown to regulate numerous pathophysiological processes in a variety of tissues and organs. The activated FFAR1 has a variety of biological functions. For instance, it can not only regulate metabolism of fatty acids and glucose, but also play an important role in immune inflammatory response, it may be a potential drug target for the treatment of various chronic inflammatory diseases. In this review, we focus on the recent researches of FFAR1's action in the regulation of pathophysiological processes, its molecular mechanism and new agonists development. At the same time, this review will take the discovery of series FFAR1 agonists as examples, and display the applied prospects of FFAR1.

This study is to evaluate beta cell function and investigate the mechanism of impaired pancreatic islet beta cell function in monosodium glutamate (MSG) obese rat with insulin resistance, an animal model of metabolic syndrome. Insulin tolerance test was used to screen MSG obese rats with insulin resistance. Blood concentrations of glucose, triglyceride, total cholesterol and insulin were determined. Beta cell function was assessed with hyperglycemic clamp technique. The morphological alterations in pancreas and changes of islet beta cell mass were evaluated by hematoxylin-eosin (HE) and Gomori aldehyde fuchsin staining. Lipid, oxidative stress relevant factors, nitric oxide (NO) level and activity of ATPase in pancreas and pancreatic mitochondrial were tested. The MSG obese rats with insulin resistance could be validated as a typical metabolic syndrome animal model possessing increased fasting plasma triglycerides and insulin (P < 0. 001), markedly decreased weight indices of pancreas and impaired glucose-stimulated insulin secretion. Hematoxylin-eosin (HE) and Gomori aldehyde fuchsin staining showed increased adipocytes and fibroplasia deposition in pancreas and reduced beta cell mass. The increased contents of triglyceride and NO level, the decreased SOD levels and activities of total ATPase (P < 0.001), Na+-K+-ATPase (P < 0.001) and Ca2+-Mg2+-ATPase (P < 0.01) were observed in pancreas and its mitochondria versus normal rat. The study demonstrates that accumulation of lipids in pancreas could lead to increased systemic indicators of inflammation, such as NO, which may influence the activities of several kinds of ATPase in cell membranes and interfere the ion transport, substance metabolism and energy production in pancreas. Finally the MSG obese rats characterized with metabolic syndrome displayed an impairment of beta cell function.
Adenosine Triphosphatases ; metabolism ; Animals ; Blood Glucose ; metabolism ; Insulin Resistance ; Insulin-Secreting Cells ; pathology ; secretion ; Male ; Malondialdehyde ; metabolism ; Metabolic Syndrome ; chemically induced ; metabolism ; pathology ; Mitochondria ; metabolism ; Nitric Oxide ; metabolism ; Obesity ; chemically induced ; metabolism ; pathology ; Organ Size ; Pancreas ; metabolism ; pathology ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar ; Sodium Glutamate ; Superoxide Dismutase ; metabolism ; Triglycerides ; blood

Mild encephalitis/encephalopathy with reversible splenial lesion has special clinical-imaging features. According to the extent of lesion involvement, it can be divided into type Ⅰ and type Ⅱ. Clinically, type Ⅰ is more common, and type Ⅱ is rare. A rare case of recurrent type Ⅱ mild encephalitis/encephalopathy with reversible splenial lesion is reported. The patient presented with typical type Ⅱ mild encephalitis/encephalopathy with reversible splenial lesion for the first time, involving the corpus callosum and the deep white matter, and the lesions disappeared after a short-term reexamination. Two years later, the lesions recurred, and the scope of the lesions was similar to that of the first time, and the lesions disappeared after a short-term reexamination. The clinical and imaging findings are analyzed in combination with relevant literatures review in order to deepen the understanding of the disease and improve the level of diagnosis and treatment.