Glucose induces insulin secretion (IS) and also potentiates the insulin-releasing action of secretagogues such as arginine and sulfonylureas. This potentiating effect is known to be impaired in type 2 diabetic patients, but its cellular mechanisms are unclear. IS and cytosolic Ca(2+) concentration ([Ca(2+)](i)) were measured in mouse islets during perifusion with 3-15 mmol/l glucose (G3-G15, re...

The HepG2-type glucose transporter (HepG2-GT) is expressed in 3T3-L1 fibroblasts and adipocytes. In contrast, the acutely insulin-regulatable glucose transporter (IRGT) is expressed only in the adipocytes. In the present study, the expression of the IRGT was shown to increase in parallel with the acquisition of acutely insulin-stimulated glucose uptake during differentiation of these cells, whe...

The molecular recognition features of tolbutamide with four synthetic hosts have been studied by means of NMR titrations, NOESY experiments and Monte Carlo (MC) conformational search. The interaction strength and the most probable structure reveal new insights on the recognition phenomena of this urea derivative in comparison with close related compounds.

Glycation process occurs in protein and becomes more pronounced in diabetes when an increased amount of reducing sugar is present in bloodstream. Glycation of protein may cause conformational changes resulting in the alterations of its binding properties even though they occur at a distance from the binding sites. The changes in protein properties could be related to several pathological conseq...

Background: Glaucoma refers to a heterogeneous group of diseases characterized by retinal cell degeneration and optic nerve atrophy leading blindness. Even though about 40% patients have normal intraocular pressure (IOP), current treatment. focuses on lowering IOP. With time, drugs become less effective, which has motivated the search for novel drugs.The objective was establish whether modulato...