Abstract
Because prenatal and perinatal undernutrition are associated with type 2 diabetes later in life, we posed the question whether nutrient deprivation during puberty would also result in a decreased ability to secrete insulin. Chronically catheterized, unstressed Sprague Dawley rats, fed ad libitum, were studied before puberty (Pre, n = 14) and after puberty (Post, n = 8). Moderately caloric-restricted rats (fed 70% of the control diet, n = 9), were studied after puberty. Insulin secretion was assessed using a hyperglycemic clamp at a glucose concentration of 300 mg/dL, or with a primed continuous infusion of intralipid (plasma FFA levels ∼1.5 mM) at a plasma glucose concentration of 200 mg/dL. Stimulated insulin levels increased in Post rats by 3- to 4-fold compared with Pre rats (from 4.6 ± 0.4 ng/mL Pre to 12.8 ± 0.7 ng/mL Post, and from 4.5 ± 0.4 ng/mL Pre to 15.8 ± 0.7 ng/mL Post, respectively, p < 0.001, at a glucose concentration of 300 mg/dL, and 200 mg/dL with intralipid). Caloric restriction prevented any rise in insulin secretion (3.8 ± 0.5 and 4.6 ± 0.5 ng/mL in the caloric-restricted rats at glucose concentrations of 300 mg/dL and 200 mg/dL with intralipid, respectively). A semiquantitative reverse-transcriptase PCR procedure was used to assess basal and stimulated insulin mRNA levels. Caloric restriction did not compensate by enhancing insulin mRNA levels in response to glucose stimulation. Moderate food deprivation during puberty reduced the capacity of the pancreas to secrete insulin in response to different nutrient stimuli. We hypothesize that puberty has an important role in β-cell maturation and any major nutrient modification may have deleterious consequences later in life.
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Abbreviations
- AL:
-
ad libitum
- Pre:
-
before puberty
- Post:
-
after puberty
- CR:
-
caloric restricted
- BW:
-
body weight
- LBM:
-
lean body mass
- FM:
-
fat mass
- GIR:
-
glucose infusion rate
- AUC:
-
area under the curve
- S-D rats:
-
Sprague Dawley rats
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The authors thank Drs. M. Hawkins and M. Brownlee and Mr. D. Hoffman for critically reviewing this manuscript.
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This work was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health (KO8-AG00639 and R29-AG15003), the American Diabetes Association, and by the Core Laboratories of the Albert Einstein Diabetes Research and Training Center (DK 20541).
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Vuguin, P., Ma, X., Yang, X. et al. Food Deprivation Limits Insulin Secretory Capacity in Postpubertal Rats. Pediatr Res 49, 468–473 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-200104000-00006
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-200104000-00006
