EFFECTS OF ACUTE HYPOGLYCEMIA ON THE OREXIN SYSTEM IN RAT

Objective To evaluate the effects of acute glucose level changes on expression of prepro-orexin, orexin 1 receptor (OX1R) and orexin 2 receptor (OX2R) mRNA in rat hypothalamus tissue and pancreatic islets cells. Methods Thirty adult male Wistar rats were randomly divided into three equal groups (n = 10). The acute hypoglycemia rat model was induced by a single subcutaneous injection of insulin. Twenty acute hypoglycemia rats were divided into group B and group C. Group B was allowed to eat freely, while group C was food-deprived. Control rats were injected the same volume of saline. The effect of glucose levels (2.8 mmol/L and 8.3 mmol/L) on pancreatic islet cell orexin system was detected in pancreas islet cell cultured in vitro. The expression of prepro-orexin and OXR mRNA was examined in rat hypothalamus tissue and pancreatic islets cell cultured in vitro using reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Results Expression of orexin mRNA increased about 150% for the food-deprived hypoglycemia rats in comparison with control group (P < 0.01), whereas expression of OX1R mRNA decreased up to 30% (P < 0.01). However, expression of OX2R mRNA was unchanged in comparison with control group. In vitro, after incubation with 2.8 mmol/L glucose for 6 hours, the expression of prepro-orexin mRNA increased 2 times in rat pancreas islet cells in comparison with 8.3 mmol/L glucose group (P < 0.01). But the expression of OX1R mRNA was not sensitive to acute glucose fluctuation.Conclusions Orexin in rat hypothalamus is stimulated by decline in blood glucose and inhibited by signals related to feeding. Moreover, glucose plays a role in modulating the gene expression of prepro-orexin in rat pancreatic islet cells.

Recent advances in tissue stem cells

Stem cells are undifferentiated cells capable of self-renewal and differentiation,giving rise to specialized functional cells.Stem cells are of pivotal importance for organ and tissue development,homeostasis,and injury and disease repair.Tissue-specific stem cells are a rare population residing in specific tissues and present powerful potential for regeneration when required.They are usually named based on the resident tissue,such as hematopoietic stem cells and germline stem cells.This review discusses the recent advances in stem cells of various tissues,including neural stem cells,muscle stem cells,liver progenitors,pancreatic islet stem/progenitor cells,intestinal stem cells,and prostate stem cells,and the future perspectives for tissue stem cell research.