The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of gender on the distribution of pancreatic islets in native chicken. Ten adult male and ten adult female Isfahan native chickens were used in this experiment. Results showed a distinct sexual dimorphism in the native chicken pancreas which depends upon the various fractions of the pancreatic lobes, which were occupied by alpha, beta an...

Inflammation and impaired mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation are considered key players in the development of several metabolic disorders, including diabetes. We have previously shown inflammation and mitochondrial dysfunction in the hypothalamus of an animal model for anorexia, the anx/anx mouse. Moreover, increased incidence of eating disorders, e.g., anorexia nervosa, has been observed ...

Human islet research is providing new insights into human islet biology and diabetes, using islets isolated at multiple US centers from donors with varying characteristics. This creates challenges for understanding, interpreting, and integrating research findings from the many laboratories that use these islets. In what is, to our knowledge, the first standardized assessment of human islet prep...

objective(s):some pathologic situations such as diabetes and metabolic syndrome are associated with alternation in nitric oxide level. incidence of these condition increases with aging. on the other hand, insulin secretion is modulated by nitric oxide, and nitric oxide synthase (nos) activity is also altered in diabetes. in this study, modification in the enzyme activity associated with aging a...

BACKGROUND As one of the natural perturbants, infection with cytomegalovirus (CMV) is believed to play a role in the development of Type I diabetes. Using the DP-BB rat model for autoimmune diabetes, we here report about possible mechanisms responsible for R(at)CMV-induced accelerated onset of diabetes. METHODS Rats were i.p. infected with 2 x 10(6) plaque forming units (pfu) RCMV and followe...

Neonatal STZ (nSTZ) treatment results in damage of pancreatic B-cells and in parallel depletion of insulin and TRH in the rat pancreas. The injury of B-cells is followed by spontaneous regeneration but dysregulation of the insulin response to glucose persists for the rest of life. Similar disturbance in insulin secretion was observed in mice with targeted TRH gene disruption. The aim of present...

The capacity of pancreatic β cells to maintain glucose homeostasis during chronic physiologic and immunologic stress is important for cellular and metabolic homeostasis. Insulin receptor substrate 2 (IRS2) is a regulated adapter protein that links the insulin and IGF1 receptors to downstream signaling cascades. Since strategies to maintain or increase IRS2 expression can promote β cell growth, ...

OBJECTIVE Acute activation of G protein-coupled receptor 40 (GPR40) by free fatty acids (FFAs) or synthetic GPR40 agonists enhances insulin secretion. However, it is still a matter of debate whether activation of GPR40 would be beneficial for the treatment of type 2 diabetes, since chronic exposure to FFAs impairs islet function. We sought to evaluate the specific role of GPR40 in islets and it...

INTRODUCTION Although islet isolation and transplantation techniques have improved extensively in recent years, the loss of healthy functional islets is one of the major obstacles in this enterprise. A biostimulatory effect of low-level laser irradiation has been proven on proliferation of some kinds of cells. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of low-level laser irradiation on th...

In an effort to evaluate the hypoglycemic activity of T. polium, the crude extract was administered orally to a group of Streptozotocin induced diabetic rats for 6 consecutive weeks. Significant decrease in blood glucose by 64%, total bilirubin by 35%, glutamate oxaloacetate transferase by 48% and glutamate pyruvate transferase by 30% was observed compared to untreated diabetic rats. However, t...