scholarly journals Changes in content and secretion of pancreatic enzymes in the obese Zucker rat

1984 ◽  
Vol 219 (1) ◽  
pp. 333-336 ◽  
Author(s):  
R Bruzzone ◽  
E R Trimble ◽  
A Gjinovci ◽  
A E Renold

The contents of three major digestive enzymes (amylase, lipase and chymotrypsinogen) were measured in the obese Zucker rat. Only minimal changes were found in 7-week-old rats, but in adult obese rats (14-16 weeks) the amylase content was decreased by 50%, whereas the lipase and chymotrypsinogen contents were increased by 45% and 20%, respectively, compared with lean controls. Abnormalities of enzyme secretion were also found. Since the changes observed in enzyme proportions in adult obese Zucker rats are qualitatively similar to those observed in insulinopenic diabetes and other states associated with decreased glucose metabolism, it is speculated that the abnormalities found in the obese Zucker rat may be due to decreased glucose metabolism in the exocrine tissue consequent to insulin resistance.

1998 ◽  
Vol 84 (1) ◽  
pp. 253-256 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Megirian ◽  
Jacek Dmochowski ◽  
Gaspar A. Farkas

Megirian, David, Jacek Dmochowski, and Gaspar A. Farkas. Mechanism controlling sleep organization of the obese Zucker rat. J. Appl. Physiol. 84(1): 253–256, 1998.—We tested the hypothesis that the obese ( fa/fa) Zucker rat has a sleep organization that differs from that of lean Zucker rats. We used the polygraphic technique to identify and to quantify the distribution of the three main states of the rat: wakefulness (W), non-rapid-eye-movement (NREM), and rapid-eye-movement (REM) sleep states. Assessment of states was made with light present (1000–1600), at the rats thermoneutral temperature of 29°C. Obese rats, compared with lean ones, did not show significant differences in the total time spent in the three main states. Whereas the mean durations of W and REM states did not differ statistically, that of NREM did ( P = 0.046). However, in the obese rats, the frequencies of switching from NREM sleep to W, which increased, and from NREM to REM sleep, which decreased, were statistically significantly different ( P = 0.019). Frequency of switching from either REM or W state was not significantly different. We conclude that sleep organization differs between lean and obese Zucker rats and that it is due to a disparity in switching from NREM sleep to either W or REM sleep and the mean duration of NREM sleep.


1989 ◽  
Vol 257 (3) ◽  
pp. 917-919 ◽  
Author(s):  
I Dugail ◽  
X Le Liepvre ◽  
A Quignard-Boulangé ◽  
J Pairault ◽  
M Lavau

Adipsin gene expression as assessed by mRNA amounts was examined in adipose tissue of genetically obese rats at the onset (16 days of age) or at later stages (30 and 60 days of age) of obesity. Amounts of mRNA were equivalent in obese and lean rats at 16 days of age. In adult rats, we observed a 2-fold decrease in adipsin mRNA in the obese rats compared with control lean rats, which was abolished by weaning the animals on a high-fat diet. Our data show that, in sharp contrast with genetically obese mice, adipsin mRNA is not suppressed in genetically obese Zucker rats.


1987 ◽  
Vol 248 (3) ◽  
pp. 771-777 ◽  
Author(s):  
E R Trimble ◽  
U Rausch ◽  
H F Kern

Both alterations of enzyme content and a markedly decreased secretory response to selected physiological stimuli have been demonstrated previously in the pancreas of the obese Zucker rat. The purpose of the present investigation was to determine the degree to which alterations of enzyme content could be attributed to changes in enzyme biosynthesis. Amylase content of obese rats was decreased by 50%, whereas lipase and trypsinogens were significantly increased. However, the decrease in amylase content was less than might have been predicted from the rate of amylase biosynthesis (80% decrease), and the increases in content of trypsinogen(s) and lipase were greater than would have been predicted from alterations in the absolute rates of biosynthesis. In view of the rapid turnover of pancreatic enzymes under normal conditions, it seems probable that a markedly decreased secretory response to various stimuli leads to an increased content of some enzymes in the pancreas of the obese rat. Ciglitazone treatment, which decreases insulin resistance in obese animals and leads to normalization of glucose metabolism in their pancreatic tissue, restored the enzyme-synthesis rates towards normal, showing that the abnormalities of enzyme synthesis were linked to the insulin resistance rather than to the obese genotype itself. Lipid inclusion bodies were found in acinar cells of obese rats. These bodies have previously been described in acinar cells of starved animals, which, in common with the acinar tissue of the obese Zucker rat, have decreased glucose metabolism.


1980 ◽  
Vol 186 (2) ◽  
pp. 525-534 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marco Crettaz ◽  
Marc Prentki ◽  
Daniel Zaninetti ◽  
Bernard Jeanrenaud

1. The effect of insulin upon glucose transport and metabolism in soleus muscles of genetically obese (fa/fa) and heterozygote lean Zucker rats was investigated at 5–6 weeks and 10–11 weeks of age. Weight-standardized strips of soleus muscles were used rather than the intact muscle in order to circumvent problems of diffusion of substrates. 2. In younger obese rats (5–6 weeks), plasma concentrations of immunoreactive insulin were twice those of controls, whereas their circulating triacylglycerol concentrations were normal. Insulin effects upon 2-deoxyglucose uptake and glucose metabolism by soleus muscles of these rats were characterized by both a decreased sensitivity and a decrease in the maximal response of this tissue to the hormone. 3. In older obese rats (10–11 weeks), circulating concentrations of insulin and triacylglycerols were both abnormally elevated. A decrease of 25–35% in insulin-binding capacity to muscles of obese rats was observed. The soleus muscles from the older obese animals also displayed decreased sensitivity and maximal response to insulin. However, at a low insulin concentration (0.1m-i.u./ml), 2-deoxyglucose uptake by muscles of older obese rats was stimulated, but such a concentration was ineffective in stimulating glucose incorporation into glycogen, and glucose metabolism by glycolysis. 4. Endogenous lipid utilization by muscle was calculated from the measurements of O2 consumption, and glucose oxidation to CO2. The rate of utilization of fatty acids was normal in muscles of younger obese animals, but increased in those of the older obese rats. Increased basal concentrations of citrate, glucose 6-phosphate and glycogen were found in muscles of older obese rats and may reflect intracellular inhibition of glucose metabolism as a result of increased lipid utilization. 5. Thus several abnormalities are responsible for insulin resistance of muscles from obese Zucker rats among which we have observed decreased insulin binding, decreased glucose transport and increased utilization of endogenous fatty acid which could inhibit glucose utilization.


1986 ◽  
Vol 237 (3) ◽  
pp. 807-812 ◽  
Author(s):  
E R Trimble ◽  
R Bruzzone ◽  
D Belin

Insulin plays a major role in the control of pancreatic amylase biosynthesis. In this study we determined glucose metabolism by pancreatic acini as well as the pancreatic content of both amylase protein and amylase mRNA during development of insulin resistance in the obese Zucker rat. At age 4 weeks there were no abnormalities detected in the above parameters, although the obese animals were already hyperinsulinaemic. At 6 weeks glucose metabolism was decreased by 50% in acini from obese rats, whereas pancreatic amylase-gene expression was only slightly impaired. At 22 weeks glucose metabolism was decreased by 50%, amylase content by 55% and amylase mRNA by 60% in acinar tissue of obese rats. As expected, hyperinsulinaemia increased markedly with age. Thus development of severe insulin resistance was associated with impairment of amylase-gene expression. To decrease insulin resistance, one group of adult obese rats was treated with Ciglitazone for 4 weeks. A lowered plasma insulin concentration without alteration of food intake was taken as evidence of decreased insulin resistance. This was associated with normalization of glucose metabolism and a marked increase of both amylase content of pancreatic tissue and amylase mRNA. In conclusion, both the increase of insulin resistance with age and its partial reversal by Ciglitazone treatment appear to modulate pancreatic amylase-gene expression in the obese Zucker rat.


1993 ◽  
Vol 3 (10) ◽  
pp. 1694-1704
Author(s):  
P Fioretto ◽  
W F Keane ◽  
B L Kasiske ◽  
M P O'Donnell ◽  
D J Klein

Glomerular proteoglycans (PG) are important in modulating extracellular matrix assembly and glomerular permselectivity. In the obese Zucker rat, an experimental model of non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus, expansion of the mesangial matrix, and microalbuminuria occur before the development of overt renal disease. The in vivo incorporation of (35S)sulfate into glomerular PG in 12-wk-old obese Zucker rats at the onset of microalbuminuria was compared with that of 12-wk-old lean Zucker rats. Specific (35S)sulfate incorporation into glomerular PG over 8 h was increased by 57% in obese rats compared with lean rats, suggesting increased PG synthesis. However, at variance with the observation in experimental models of insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, the proportion of total glomerular (35S)PG released by heparin treatment was unchanged. Heparan sulfate (HS)-PG constituted over 60% of radiolabeled de novo synthesized glomerular PG. Similar proportions of HS-PG were extracted from the glomeruli of obese and lean rats. Isolated glomeruli spontaneously released two HS-PG, which constituted approximately 30% of total glomerular (35S)PG. On the basis of their chromatographic and electrophoretic patterns, these PG were similar in obese and lean rats. Heparin treatment of isolated glomeruli released an additional HS-PG, which appeared to be derived primarily from the glomerular extracellular matrix compartment and not from the detergent soluble cell fraction. Heparin-releasable HS-PG from both the lean and obese Zucker rats eluted at a KAV of 0.31 from Sepharose CL-6B chromatographic columns, indicating a hydrodynamic size similar to that reported for glomerular basement membrane HS-PG. However, gel electrophoresis demonstrated faster migration of the HS-PG released by heparin from the glomeruli of obese Zucker rats, suggesting increased electronegativity. Thus, early in the course of nephropathy in the obese Zucker rat, there is increased glomerular PG synthesis with no change in the proportions of the constitutively releasable and heparin-releasable HS-PG. Whether electrophoretic abnormalities of the heparin-releasable HS-PG observed in the obese rats contribute to the development of albuminuria and/or mesangial matrix expansion remains to be established.


2005 ◽  
Vol 153 (6) ◽  
pp. 963-969 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dorte X Gram ◽  
Anker J Hansen ◽  
Michael Wilken ◽  
Torben Elm ◽  
Ove Svendsen ◽  
...  

Objective: It has earlier been demonstrated that capsaicin-induced desensitization improves insulin sensitivity in normal rats. However, whether increased capsaicin-sensitive nerve activity precedes the onset of insulin resistance in diet-induced obesity – and therefore might be involved in the pathophysiology – is not known. Further, it is of relevance to investigate whether capsaicin desensitization improves glycaemic control even in obese individuals and we therefore chose the obese Zucker rats to test this. Design and methods: Plasma levels of calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP; a marker of sensory nerve activity) was assessed in 8-week-old Zucker rats. To investigate whether capsaicin desensitization (100 mg/kg at 9 weeks of age) would also ameliorate glycaemia in this non-diabetic model, we assessed oral glucose tolerance at 7 weeks after capsaicin. Results: It was found that plasma CGRP levels were elevated in obese Zucker rats prior to the onset of obesity (16.1±3.4 pmol/l in pre-obese Zucker rats vs 6.9±1.1 pmol/l in lean littermates; P = 0.015) despite similar body weights. Furthermore, capsaicin desensitization reduced both fasting blood glucose (4.3±0.2 mmol/l vs 5.1±0.2 mmol/l in controls; P = 0.050) as well as the mean blood glucose level during an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) (6.8±0.3 mmol/l vs 8.6±0.5 mmol/l in control obese rats; P = 0.024) whereas the plasma insulin levels during the OGTT were unchanged. However this did not lead to an improvement in insulin resistance or to a reduction of tissue triglyceride accumulation in muscle or liver. Conclusion: We concluded that capsaicin-induced sensory nerve desensitization improves glucose tolerance in Zucker rats. Since, in this study, plasma CGRP levels, a marker of sensory nerve activity, were increased in the pre-obese rats, our data support the hypothesis that increased activity of sensory nerves precedes the development of obesity and insulin resistance in Zucker rats.


1998 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 38-45 ◽  
Author(s):  
N J Laping ◽  
B A Olson ◽  
J R Day ◽  
B M Brickson ◽  
L C Contino ◽  
...  

Clusterin is a multifunctional glycoprotein associated with development and tissue injury. Because renal function decreases with advancing age in the obese Zucker rat, clusterin mRNA expression was examined in the kidney of young adult Zucker rats and compared with age-related changes in renal clusterin mRNA expression in Fischer 344 (F344) rats. Renal clusterin mRNA levels in the obese Zucker rat were 2.5-fold higher by 3 mo of age and fourfold higher at 5 mo of age compared with the lean strain. In comparison, renal clusterin mRNA in 12-mo-old F344 rats was twofold higher than in 3-mo-old animals and was tenfold higher at 24 mo of age. Clusterin mRNA was positively correlated with urinary protein excretion and negatively correlated with creatinine clearance in Zucker rats. Clusterin was increased in select nephrons of the obese Zucker rat kidney and in 24-mo-old F344 rat kidney as assessed by in situ hybridization. Increased expression of clusterin mRNA occurred mostly in the tubular epithelium of dilated, convoluted proximal tubules. These data indicate that renal clusterin mRNA levels increase as a function of age and that age-related increases in renal clusterin and the associated tubular abnormalities are accelerated in obese Zucker rats.


1989 ◽  
Vol 66 (6) ◽  
pp. 2635-2641 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. L. Ivy ◽  
J. T. Brozinick ◽  
C. E. Torgan ◽  
G. M. Kastello

Exercise training has been found to reduce the muscle insulin resistance of the obese Zucker rat (fa/fa). The purpose of the present study was to determine whether this reduction in muscle insulin resistance was associated with an improvement in the glucose transport process and if it was fiber-type specific. Rats were randomly assigned to a sedentary or training group. Training consisted of treadmill running at 18 m/min up an 8% grade, 1.5 h/day, 5 days/wk, for 6–8 wk. The rate of muscle glucose transport was assessed in the absence of insulin and in the presence of a physiological (0.15 mU/ml), a submaximal (1.50 mU/ml), and a maximal (15.0 mU/ml) insulin concentration by determining the rate of 3-O-methyl-D-glucose (3-OMG) accumulation during hindlimb perfusion. The average 3-OMG transport rate of the red gastrocnemii (fast-twitch oxidative-glycolytic fibers) was significantly higher in the trained compared with the sedentary obese rats in the absence of insulin and in the presence of the three insulin concentrations. Significant improvements in 3-OMG transport were also observed in the plantarii (mixed fibers) of trained obese rats in the presence of 0, 0.15, and 15.0 mU/ml insulin. Training appeared to have little effect on the insulin-stimulated 3-OMG transport of the soleus (slow-twitch oxidative fibers) or white gastrocnemius (fast-twitch glycolytic fibers). The results suggest that the improvement in the muscle insulin resistance of the obese Zucker rat after moderate endurance training was associated with an improvement in the glucose transport process but that it was fiber-type specific.


1984 ◽  
Vol 221 (3) ◽  
pp. 915-917 ◽  
Author(s):  
R A Challis ◽  
L Budohoski ◽  
B McManus ◽  
E A Newsholme

The decreased sensitivity of glycolysis to insulin seen in isolated soleus muscles from genetically obese Zucker rats was abolished by addition of the adenosine-receptor antagonist 8-phenyltheophylline to the incubation medium; 8-phenyltheophylline had no effect on the sensitivity of glycogen synthesis to insulin. These findings suggest that changes in the sensitivity of glucose utilization by muscles of genetically obese rats may be explained, in part, by a modification in either the concentration of adenosine or the affinity of adenosine receptors in skeletal muscle.


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