help button home button Endocrine Society Endocrinology
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS

This Article
Right arrow Abstract Freely available
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Request Copyright Permission
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Farilla, L.
Right arrow Articles by Perfetti, R.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Farilla, L.
Right arrow Articles by Perfetti, R.
Endocrinology Vol. 143, No. 11 4397-4408
Copyright © 2002 by The Endocrine Society


ARTICLE

Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Promotes Islet Cell Growth and Inhibits Apoptosis in Zucker Diabetic Rats

Loredana Farilla, Hongxiang Hui, Cristina Bertolotto, Elizabeth Kang, Angela Bulotta, Umberto Di Mario and Riccardo Perfetti

Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Department of Medicine, Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism (L.F., H.H., E.K., A.B., R.P.), Department of Obstetrics, Division of Neonatology (C.B.), Los Angeles, California 90048; University of California Los Angeles (C.B., R.P., L.F., H.H.), Los Angeles, California 90024; and Department of Medicine, Division of Endocrinology, University La Sapienza (U.D.), Rome 00161, Italy

Address all correspondence and requests for reprints to: Riccardo Perfetti, M.D., Ph.D., Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, 8723 Alden Drive, SSB 290, Los Angeles, California 90048. E-mail: perfettir{at}cshs.org.


    Abstract
 Top
 Abstract
 Introduction
 Materials and Methods
 Results
 Discussion
 References
 
A constant remodeling of islet cell mass mediated by proliferative and apoptotic stimuli ensures a dynamic response to a changing demand for insulin. In this study, we investigated the effect of glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) in Zucker diabetic rats, an animal model in which the onset of diabetes occurs when the proliferative potential and the rate of ß-cell apoptosis no longer compensate for the increased demand for insulin. We subjected diabetic rats to a 2-d infusion of GLP-1 and tested their response to an ip glucose tolerance test. GLP-1 produced a significant increase of insulin secretion, which was paralleled by a decrease in plasma glucose levels (P < 0.001 and P < 0.01, respectively). Four days after the removal of the infusion pumps, rats were killed and the pancreas harvested to study the mechanism by which GLP-1 ameliorated glucose tolerance. Ex vivo immunostaining with the marker of cell proliferation, Ki-67, showed that the metabolic changes observed in rats treated with GLP-1 were associated with an increase in cell proliferation of the endocrine and exocrine component of the pancreas. Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated deoxyuridine triphosphate nick end-labeling staining, a marker of cellular apoptosis, indicated a reduction of apoptotic cells within the islet as well in the exocrine pancreas in GLP-1-treated rats. Double immunostaining for the apoptotic marker caspase-3 and for insulin showed a significant reduction of caspase-3 expression and an increase in insulin content in GLP-1-treated animals. Finally, staining of pancreatic sections with the nuclear dye 4,6-Diaminidino-2-phenyl-dihydrochloride demonstrated a marked reduction of fragmented nuclei in the islet cells of rats treated with GLP-1. Our findings provide evidence that the beneficial effects of GLP-1 in Zucker diabetic rats is mediated by an increase in islet cell proliferation and a decrease of cellular apoptosis.


    Introduction
 Top
 Abstract
 Introduction
 Materials and Methods
 Results
 Discussion
 References
 
GLUCAGON-LIKE PEPTIDE-1 (GLP-1) is a 300-amino-acid peptide secreted from the L-cells of the intestinal epithelium in response to food. GLP-1is formed as a result of proteolytic cleavage of proglucagon (1, 2) and is the most potent insulinotropic hormone known (3, 4). GLP-1 action is mediated by binding to a cell surface receptor, which belongs to the secretin/glucagon superfamily of receptors that are coupled to heterotrimeric G proteins. Binding of GLP-1 to its receptor stimulates cAMP formation and a raise in intracellular Ca2+ (5, 6). Although the endogenous postprandial levels of intact and biological active GLP-1 has been shown to be reduced in subjects with diabetes (7), the insulinotropic activity of exogenously administered GLP-1 has been shown to be retained, even many years after the onset of hyperglycemia (8). Indeed, following administration of intravenous GLP-1, the insulin secretory response in nondiabetic and diabetic subjects is remarkably similar (8). When administered to subjects with type 2 diabetes, whose fasting blood glucose was poorly controlled on diet and sulfonylurea therapy, GLP-1 normalizes their fasting glucose levels (9). These observations suggest that even if ß-cells of the pancreas no longer respond to sulfonylureas, GLP-1 therapy may still be an option for the treatment for type 2 diabetes.

In glucose-intolerant Wistar rats, the mechanisms by which GLP-1 reverses the age-dependent ß-cell abnormalities include a transcription activation of insulin, glucose transporter-2, and glucokinase genes (10). This is associated with an expansion of ß-cell mass via islet cell neogenesis (11). In the present study, we investigated the capability of GLP-1 to improve glucose control in a model of overt diabetes, the Zucker diabetic rat. Inbred Zucker diabetic fatty (ZDF/GmiTM-fa/fa) rats develop diabetes around 10 wk of age after a prediabetic period during which obesity and insulin resistance are present, but fasting blood glucose concentration is normal (12, 13). Compared with lean control rats from a partially outbred strain that develops insulin resistance but not diabetes, ZDF rats show an increased islet cell replication rate, and the clinical onset of diabetes has been demonstrated to depend on an increase of islet cell apoptosis (14).

In the present study, we provide evidence that the antidiabetic action of GLP-1, in Zucker rats, depends upon its proproliferative action and inhibition of islet cell apoptosis.


    Materials and Methods
 Top
 Abstract
 Introduction
 Materials and Methods
 Results
 Discussion
 References
 
Animals
Twelve-week-old male ZDF rats were purchased from Harlan Sprague Dawley, Inc. (Indianapolis, IN) and maintained on standard laboratory chow under a 12-h light/12-h dark schedule. They were given free access to food and water and fasted only for the night before the glucose tolerance test. All institutional guidelines for care and use of animals were followed. All ZDF rats were diabetic at the beginning of the study, as indicated by their fasting glucose levels. A total of eight animals per treatment group were employed for the study. Although all animals (treated and controls) were subjected to glucose tolerance tests, a minimum of four animals per treatment group were used for any of the immunohistological and morphometric study hereafter described.

Experimental design
ZDF rats were subjected to a 2-d continuous infusion of human recombinant GLP-1 (Bachem, King of Prussia, PA), (30 pmol/kg·min) or saline (n = 8 per treatment group). The infusion was performed using an Alzet microosmotic pump (Alza Corp., Minneapolis, MN) implanted in the interscapular region. Before the surgical implantation of the pump, the rats were anesthetized using 45 mg/kg ketamine (Phoenix Scientific, Inc., St. Joseph, MO) and 4.5 mg/kg xylazine (Loyd Laboratories, Shenandoah, IA). The infusion pumps were removed at the end of the infusion. Four days after the removal of the pumps (corresponding to d 6 from the beginning of the experiment, counting as d 1 the day of the beginning of the infusion), they were subjected to an ip glucose tolerance test (IPGTT; 1 g glucose/kg body weight) after an overnight fast. Blood samples were collected by tail tip amputation at -20, 2, 15, 30, 45, 60, 90, and 120 min from the beginning of the glucose injection. This procedure allowed for blood collection without cutting the skeletal component of the tail and did not require the catheterization of a blood vessel. Blood samples were then assayed for glucose and insulin levels. Rats were killed 1 d after the IPGTT (d 7) and pancreata were harvested and fixed in paraffin for histological studies. Dose and duration of GLP-1 infusion were based on a previously published study from our laboratory (15). Fasting plasma GLP-1 levels were measured in GLP-1-infused and control rats the day before the beginning of the infusion, 30 min after the end of the infusion, and the day on which the animals were killed for histology studies.

GLP-1-dependent proliferation of pancreatic ß-cells
To assess the effect of GLP-1 on the proliferation of ß-cells, pancreatic tissue sections were deparaffinized and stained for the presence of the Ki-67 antigen (a marker of cell mitosis) and insulin. Briefly, the process required immersing the tissue containing slides in three baths of xylene. They were then rehydrated in two baths of 100% ethanol, one bath of 90% ethanol, and two baths of 70% ethanol. Finally, the sections were treated with proteinase-K (Sigma, St. Louis, MO), 20 µg/ml, for 6 min at room temperature and washed in PBS (Sigma) for 5 min.

A double staining for the nuclear proliferative marker Ki-67 and insulin was then performed. All steps were carried out at room temperature unless otherwise described. The sections were first incubated with normal horse serum for 30 min. A Ki-67 mouse antirat monoclonal antibody (Novocastra, New Castle Upon Tyne, UK), diluted 1:50 in PBS, was incubated with the sections overnight at 4 C. After several washes, the secondary antibody, an affinity-purified antimouse and rhodamine-conjugated IgG (Chemicon, Temecula, CA), was added at the dilution of 1:50 for 1 h. For insulin immunostaining, the sections were incubated for 1 h with a polyclonal guinea pig antirat insulin antibody (DAKO Corp., Carpinteria, CA), diluted 1:50. The sections were then subjected to two washes in PBS before the addition of a fluorescein isothiocyanate-conjugated rabbit antiguinea pig secondary antibody (DAKO Corp.), diluted 1:40, and incubated for 1 h.

The tissue slides were analyzed with a BH-2 microscope (Olympus Corp., Melville, NY) using a fluorescein standard filter set (520 ± 20 nm) for insulin staining and a rhodamine filter (>620 nm) for Ki-67 staining.

GLP-1-dependent effect on ß-cell apoptosis
Terminal deoxynucleotide transferase-mediated dUTP-digoxigenin nick-end labeling (TUNEL).
The TUNEL assay was performed using a DeadEnd colorimetric apoptotic detection system (Promega Corp., Madison, WI). All incubations were performed at room temperature, unless otherwise specified. The paraffin-embedded pancreas sections were deparaffinized and rehydrated as described above. The slides were then incubated in 0.85% NaCl (Sigma) for 5 min and washed in PBS for 5 min. They were then fixed in 4% formaldehyde (J. T. Baker, Phillipsburg, NJ) for 15 min and washed twice in PBS. The tissues were covered with 100 µl proteinase-K (20 µg/ml) and incubated for 30 min. Immersing the slides in PBS for 5 min stopped the protein digestion by proteinase-K. The slides were then transferred into a jar containing 4% formaldehyde and incubated for 5 min. After one wash in PBS, the slides were incubated for 10 min in equilibration buffer provided with the detection kit and then covered with a solution containing a biotinylated nucleotide mix and the TdT-terminal transferase. The incubation was performed at 37 C for 1 h. Immersing the slides in 2 x saline sodium citrate for 15 min then terminated the reaction. After three washes in PBS, the sections were incubated with 0.3% hydrogen peroxide for 5 min to block endogenous peroxide. Streptavidin horseradish peroxidase solution (Promega Corp.), diluted 1:500 in PBS, was added and incubated for 30 min. After washing twice in PBS, the colorimetric reaction was developed by using the diamino-benzidine reagents and counterstained with eosin. The tissue slides were analyzed by light microscopy using a BH-2 microscope (Olympus Corp.).

Double immunofluorescence for insulin and caspase-3.
Pancreatic sections obtained from GLP-1-treated and control rats were also subjected to a double immunostaining for caspase-3 and insulin. After deparaffinization, the sections were incubated with a polyclonal rabbit anticaspase-3 antibody (BD PharMingen, Lexington, KY) diluted 1:500 in PBS and with a polyclonal guinea pig antiinsulin antibody (DAKO Corp.), diluted 1:50. The incubation was performed at 4 C overnight. After several washes in PBS, an antirabbit fluorescein-conjugated antibody (Chemicon) diluted 1:100, and an antiguinea pig rhodamine-conjugated antibody (DAKO Corp.), diluted 1:40, were incubated for 1 h at room temperature.

4,6-Diaminidino-2-phenyl-dihydrochloride (DAPI) staining.
Pancreatic sections were fixed as described above and rinsed in phosphate buffer solution (1 M PBS, pH 7.4) before the addition of the mounting medium containing DAPI (Vectashield, Vector Laboratories, Burlingame, CA), and the slides were examined using a digital camera (model KX2E, Apogee, Aubum, CA) attached to the BH-2 microscope (Olympus Corp.) and processed with an Image-Pro computer program (Media Cybernetics, L.P., Carlsbad, CA).

Measurement of islet cell mass, ß-cell proliferation, and ß-cell apoptosis
Quantification of islet cell mass, ß-cell proliferation, and apoptosis was performed by point-counting morphometry of insulin-immunostained pancreatic sections, with minor adaptation to the method described by Weibel (16) and later applied by Bonner-Weir and colleagues (11, 14, 17). For this study, pancreas sections obtained from four ZDF rats treated with GLP-1 and four control ZDF rats infused solely with saline solution were analyzed. Each pancreas was divided into two blocks, and for each block various independent sections were analyzed to acquire approximately 200 fields per pancreas for final quantification of mass, proliferation, and apoptosis. The slides were examined at the final magnification of x400, using a digital camera (model KX2E, Apogee) attached to the BH-2 microscope (Olympus Corp.) and processed with an Image-Pro computer program (Media Cybernetics).

For assessment of ß-cell mass, a color monitor with a dotted transparent overlay was used for point counting. In nonoverlapping fields, the number of intercepts over ß-cell, endocrine non-ß-cell, and exocrine tissue was determined.

For assessment of ß-cell proliferation, pancreatic sections were stained for both Ki-67 and insulin. The number of cells that costained for both insulin and Ki-67 was divided by the total number of insulin-positive cells per each field to obtain the percentage of actively dividing ß-cell.

To determine the percentage of islet ß-cells undergoing apoptosis, pancreatic sections were stained with the nuclear dye DAPI and an antibody-recognizing insulin. The DAPI staining allows visualizing fragmented/damaged nuclei of cells that have initiated the process leading to apoptosis. The number of insulin-positive cells with fragmented nuclei was then divided for the total number of insulin-positive cells per each field to determine the percentage of apoptotic ß-cells.

All morphometric analyses were performed in blind by one observer (L.F.).

Plasma assays
The plasma levels of insulin and the active form of GLP-1 were measured by RIA (Linco Research, Inc., St. Charles, MA). Plasma glucose was measured by the glucose oxidase method using a CCX Spectrum (Abbott, Irving, TX). The area under the curve (AUC) for insulin and glucose was calculated according to the trapezoid rule.

Statistical analysis
The data were expressed as mean ± SE. Significance of the data was evaluated by unpaired t test. One-way ANOVA was used to evaluate statistical significance when more than two data points were analyzed. Use of statistical analyses by unpaired t test or ANOVA is explicitly identified in the text or figure legends.


    Results
 Top
 Abstract
 Introduction
 Materials and Methods
 Results
 Discussion
 References
 
Plasma GLP-1 levels
Plasma GLP-1 levels were measured before the day of the implantation of the infusion pumps, 30 min after the termination of the infusion, and immediately before the glucose tolerance test (on d 6 of the experiment). All blood sampling was performed after an overnight fast. No statistically significant difference in the plasma level of GLP-1 was observed among rats tested before the beginning of the treatment. A statistically greater level of GLP-1 was detected in GLP-1-treated rats, compared with controls, when the plasma was collected 30 min after removal of the infusion pumps (Table 1Go). The two treatment groups reverted to approximately equal GLP-1 levels by the time of the measurement on d 6, indicating that all exogenous GLP-1 was metabolized by time the time of the glucose tolerance test.


View this table:
[in this window]
[in a new window]
 
Table 1. General physiological characteristics of Zucker diabetic rats used for the study

 
Glucose tolerance in ZDF rats
The infusion of GLP-1 to diabetic rats had a significant positive effect on both glucose excursion and insulin secretion, as demonstrated by an IPGTT performed 4 d after the end of the treatment (Fig. 1Go). This occurred by increasing and decreasing the AUC for insulin and glucose, respectively, within the first 30 min from the beginning of the glucose infusion. GLP-1 partially restored the acute phase secretion of insulin, characteristically lost in ZDF rats, and enhanced the overall insulin secretory activity in response to glucose. The AUC for insulin, calculated from -20 min to 30 min, showed that GLP-1-treated rats had a 1.7-fold increase in insulin levels (P < 0.001, Table 1Go). GLP-1 also lowered plasma glucose levels after the initial spike, occurring within 15 min from the beginning of the test (P < 0.01, GLP-1 vs. saline-treated rats), with a return to pre-IPGTT values within 90 min (Fig. 1Go). The AUC for glucose was 20% lower in GLP-1-treated rats, compared with controls (P < 0.01, Table 1Go).



View larger version (23K):
[in this window]
[in a new window]
 
Figure 1. Insulin and glucose secretion. Insulin (top panel) and glucose (bottom panel) levels were evaluated by subjecting ZDF rats to an IPGTT (1 g/kg body weight), performed 4 d after a 48-h infusion with GLP-1 (30 pmol/kg·min) or saline solution. The data were obtained from eight different animals per treatment group. Statistical significance was evaluated by ANOVA from time point between -20 and 30 min.

 
Islet cell morphology
Treatment with GLP-1 induced a marked increased in the size of the preexisting islets as well as the formation of new isletlike aggregates of insulin-positive cells. In GLP-1-treated ZDF rats, the diameter of large-sized islets was 1.3- to 1.5-fold greater than those observed in controls (Fig. 2Go). Although in controls some large islets reached the diameter of 15,000–18,000 µm2, the largest islet in the GLP-1-treated group reached 20,000–25,000 µm2. In GLP-1-treated rats, there was also an enhanced irregularity of the margins of those large islets, with the presence of an extensive branching out of cells from the periphery of the islets. This budding of cells appeared as developing branches of cells reaching and connecting the islets to neighboring ductal structures, although, less frequently, they extended toward the exocrine parenchyma (Fig. 2Go).



View larger version (155K):
[in this window]
[in a new window]
 
Figure 2. Islets cell morphology. Pancreatic sections stained with hematoxylin and eosin. Control (A) and GLP-1-treated ZDF (B); x200 magnification. C and D, Detail of a representative individual islet from control (C) and GLP-1-treated (D) rats, x400 magnification. E, x800 magnification of a pancreatic section from a GLP-1-treated rat showing a detail of islet cells budding from pancreatic ducts. Pictures are representative hematoxylin and eosin staining of pancreatic sections of at least five animals per treatment group. At least five sections per each individual pancreas were studied.

 
We also observed extraislet aggregates of insulin-positive cells, present after treatment with GLP-1, which were characteristically formed by less than 10 cells and were scattered throughout the entire pancreas. Those clusters of cells did not show any obvious structural connection with preexisting large or medium-sized islets or with ductal structures. These smaller islets (<100 µm2) had margins characteristically regular and homogeneous, with the absence of invaginations (Fig. 2Go). Very few insulin-positive cell aggregates were also occasionally observed in control ZDF rats.

A third group of insulin-positive cells was represented by cells that appeared wrapped around small-sized ductal cells, often connecting more than one duct, and forming a netlike structure of irregular shape (Fig. 2Go). Those insulin-positive cells were observed exclusively in the proximity of small-sized ducts; no such aggregates of cells were observed in medium- or large-sized ducts. They were characteristically more abundant in GLP-1-treated rats than in controls.

GLP-1-dependent cell proliferation
Immunostaining for the Ki-67 antigen, a nuclear marker of cell proliferation, demonstrated the presence of actively dividing cells both in controls and in GLP-1-treated rats. Ki-67-positive cells were present within the endocrine as well as the exocrine component of the pancreatic parenchyma. In GLP-1-treated animals, the number of Ki-67-positive cells was such to suggest a greater cell proliferation, compared with controls (Fig. 3Go).



View larger version (114K):
[in this window]
[in a new window]
 
Figure 3. GLP-1-dependent cell proliferation: double-immunostaining Ki-67 (red) and insulin (green). A, Ki-67 staining in control pancreas of a Zucker rat; detail of a large islet. B, Insulin staining of the same islet. C, Ki-67 staining in GLP-1-treated rats; detail of a large islet. D, Insulin staining of the same islet. E, Ki-67 staining of a small islet from the pancreas of a control rat. F, Insulin staining of the same islet. G, Ki-67 of a pancreatic section from a GLP-1-treated rat; aggregates of Ki-67-positive cells. H, Insulin staining of the same area. Staining for Ki-67 shows a characteristic nuclear distribution, and insulin is detected exclusively in the cell cytoplasm. Pictures are representative of double staining for Ki-67 and insulin of pancreatic sections of at least five animals per treatment group. At least five sections per each individual pancreas were studied.

 
In addition to a quantitative difference in the number of replicating cells, there was a qualitative difference in their appearance in the two treatment groups. Although in the control group the Ki-67-positive cells appeared to be randomly distributed among the population of insulin-secreting cells (Fig. 3Go, A and B), their pattern of distribution in GLP-1-treated rats showed a much greater variability. Two common presentations of Ki-67-positive cells were observed in animals exposed to GLP-1: sparse, individual cells within the islets of Langerhans (Fig. 3Go, C and D) and aggregates of isletlike structures that were insulin negative and sparse within the exocrine parenchyma (Fig. 3Go, G and H). The presence of sparse/scattered Ki-67-positive cells within the islets was characteristic of islet of very large size (Fig. 3Go, C and D), and it was only rarely observed in small aggregates of insulin-positive cells. Although in the control group, the few cell isletlike aggregates that were observed in the exocrine parenchyma always contained insulin (Fig. 3Go, E and F), in the GLP-1-treated group, we observed aggregates of cells that were positive for Ki-67 but negative for insulin (Fig. 3Go, G and H). This latter group of clusters of proliferating cells was never observed in the control group.

In addition to those Ki-67-positive cells that appeared as clusters of few cells within the exocrine parenchyma, we observed that similar aggregates of dividing cells could also be detected within the limits of many islets (Fig. 4Go). This was more frequently observed in medium- and small-sized islets and was never observed in the control group. The diving cells within those islets were distinct from the differentiated insulin-secreting cells. As shown in Fig. 4Go, the aggregates of Ki-67-positive cells were often at the margins of differentiated ß-cells (Fig. 4Go, D–I) and even when present in the core region of an islet (Fig. 4Go, A–C), they never expressed insulin.



View larger version (108K):
[in this window]
[in a new window]
 
Figure 4. Cell distribution of insulin and Ki-67 in an individual islet of Langerhans. Double-immunostaining Ki-67 (red) and insulin (green). Three examples of individual islets of Langerhans from GLP-1-treated ZDF rats. A, D, and G, Staining for insulin. B, E, and H, Staining for Ki-67 antigen. C, F, and I show aggregates of Ki-67-positive cells present within the limit of three different islets. Staining for Ki-67 shows a characteristic nuclear distribution, and insulin is detected exclusively in the cell cytoplasm. The white arrows in H show cells with a positive nuclear staining for Ki-67, and the yellow arrows indicate cells that were not recognized by the Ki-67 antibody. The arrows in C, F, and I indicate islet regions that are Ki-67 positive but insulin negative. The islet magnification was further enlarged by computer modification to x1000.

 
The tendency of forming aggregates of mitotic cells was never observed in the saline-infused controls. Although Ki-67-positive cells were clearly detected in control rats, they invariably appeared as scattered, isolated, single cells that were present within all three cell compartments of the pancreas: endocrine, exocrine, and ductal. Finally, the clusters of Ki-67-positive cells detected in the exocrine parenchyma were made up of cells that appeared larger than the surrounding cells because of the presence of both larger nuclei and wider and more translucent cytoplasmic components.

GLP-1-dependent inhibition of cell apoptosis
Using the TUNEL assay, we observed a greater number of apoptotic cells in the pancreatic sections of untreated ZDF rats, compared with those collected from the GLP-1-treated group (Fig. 5Go). In the control group, we detected several aggregates of apoptotic cells; they were more characteristically present in the exocrine parenchyma and frequently in close proximity of several islets. There were also isolated fragmented nuclear apoptotic cells localized within the islets (Fig. 5Go).



View larger version (145K):
[in this window]
[in a new window]
 
Figure 5. Detection of cell apoptosis by TUNEL assay. A, B, and C, Saline-infused ZDF rats. A and B, x20 Magnification; C, x40 magnification and detail of apoptotic nuclei at x100. D, E, and F, GLP-1-treated ZDF rats. D and E, x20 Magnification; F, x40 magnification. The arrows indicate examples of apoptotic areas. Pictures are representative of TUNEL assay of pancreatic sections obtained from at least five animals per treatment group. At least five sections per each individual pancreas were studied.

 
In GLP-1-treated ZDF rats, unlike the control group, we did not observe any clusters of apoptotic cells in the pancreatic sections examined. There were also fewer isolated apoptotic nuclei scattered throughout the exocrine pancreas, and the islets were virtually free of apoptotic cells. GLP-1 appeared to promote a general improvement of the islet morphology, characterized by a reorganization of the islet structure with a marked reduction of noncellular areas (Fig. 5Go).

Consistent with the data derived from the TUNEL assay, the double staining for caspase-3 and insulin showed a significant reduction of the caspase-3 expression in GLP-1-treated rats, compared with controls (Fig. 6Go, A and B). These changes were associated with the presence of a greater number of insulin-containing cells in the context of morphologically more organized islets. As observed for the endocrine tissue, the exocrine pancreas also showed a healthier status, with a marked down-regulation of the caspase-3 expression in GLP-1-treated animals (Fig. 6Go, C and D).




View larger version (193K):
[in this window]
[in a new window]
 
Figure 6. Immunofluorescence for insulin (red) and caspase-3 (green) and nuclei (blue). A–D, Caspase-3/insulin immunostaining of islets in saline-infused ZDF rats. A, DAPI nuclear staining; B, insulin; C, caspase-3; D, nuclei, caspase-3, and insulin. E–H, Caspase-3/insulin immunostaining of islets in GLP-1-infused ZDF rats. E, DAPI nuclear staining; F, insulin; G, caspase-3; H, nuclei, caspase-3, and insulin. I–L, Caspase-3/insulin immunostaining of the exocrine pancreas in saline-infused ZDF rats. I, DAPI nuclear staining; J, insulin; K, caspase-3; L, nuclei, caspase-3, and insulin. M–P, Caspase-3/insulin immunostaining of the exocrine pancreas in GLP-1-infused ZDF rats. M, DAPI nuclear staining; N, insulin; O, caspase-3; P, nuclei, caspase-3, and insulin. All pictures were taken at x40 magnification, and they were representative of a double staining for insulin and caspase-3 of pancreatic sections obtained from at least five animals per treatment group. At least five sections per each individual pancreas were studied.

 
The DAPI nuclear staining further confirmed the observation derived from the TUNEL assay and caspase-3/insulin staining, demonstrating a marked decrease of DNA fragmentation in the pancreatic sections obtained from GLP-1-treated rats (Fig.7Go).



View larger version (56K):
[in this window]
[in a new window]
 
Figure 7. DAPI staining of nuclei. Details of nuclei of islet cells from saline-infused (A) and GLP-1-treated ZDF rats (B). Pictures are representative of nuclear staining of pancreatic sections of at least five animals per treatment group. At least five sections per each individual pancreas were studied. Pictures of islet cell nuclei are presented at the final magnification of x100 obtained by microscope magnification and computer-generated enlargement.

 
Quantitative analysis of ß-cell mass, ß-cell proliferation, and ß-cell apoptosis
Treatment of ZDF rats with GLP-1 produced a significant remodeling of islet mass, ß-cell replication, and ß-cell apoptosis (Fig. 8Go). ZDF rats treated with GLP-1 showed a 1.6-fold expansion of islet ß-cell mass (7.2 ± 1.5 mg in saline-infused rats vs. 11.6 ± 1.1 mg in GLP-1-treated rats; P < 0.01). This was associated with a 1.4-fold increase in the number of actively dividing ß-cells and with an even greater effect of GLP-1 on the number of apoptotic ß-cells. Indeed GLP-1 promoted a 3.6-fold decrease in the number of apoptotic ß-cells (Fig. 8Go; P < 0.001).



View larger version (16K):
[in this window]
[in a new window]
 
Figure 8. Quantitative analysis of ß-cell mass, ß-cell proliferation, and ß-cell apoptosis. Four 12-wk-old ZDF rats per treatment group were used for point-counting morphometry to determine islet ß-cell mass (A), ß-cell proliferation (B), and ß-cell apoptosis (C). All sections were stained for insulin; some sections were also costained for Ki-67 to assess the percentage of proliferating ß-cells; others were subjected to double staining with the nuclear dye DAPI, together with an antiinsulin antibody to determine the rate of ß-cell apoptosis. A total of approximately 200 fields of pancreatic sections was acquired for morphometric analysis. Statistical evaluation of the data was performed by unpaired t test.

 

    Discussion
 Top
 Abstract
 Introduction
 Materials and Methods
 Results
 Discussion
 References
 
In subpancreatectomized diabetic rats (11) and aging glucose-intolerant rats (18), GLP-1 has been shown to be capable of inducing a significant improvement in glucose tolerance. These changes resulted primarily from the proliferation and differentiation of cells of the ductal epithelium into insulin-secreting cells. Interestingly, glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide, an incretin hormone that with GLP-1 regulates postprandial glucose-dependent insulin secretion, has also been shown in a recent report to be capable of promoting the proliferation of the islet-derived ß-cell line (19).

By studying the islets of Langerhans of animal models of type 2 diabetes, it has been shown that, although in some of them, the clinical onset of diabetes is the consequence of an impaired proliferative activity of the ß-cells; in others, this results from an abnormal rate of cellular apoptosis. The ZDF rat has been shown to develop diabetes when the rate of cell proliferation, which is markedly enhanced, compared with lean controls, no longer compensates for the rate of cell death. GLP-1 has been shown to be capable of improving glucose tolerance by increasing islet cell mass, a mechanism that has been shown to be already activated in ZDF rats and appears to be insufficient in avoiding the onset of diabetes in this animal model. Although these considerations would lead to predict that GLP-1 might not be efficacious in ZDF, clinical investigations have demonstrated a significant improvement of glucose tolerance after treating ZDF rats with GLP-1. The present study was undertaken to characterize the mechanism(s) of action of GLP-1 in ZDF rats and led to demonstrate that GLP-1 had an important effect on ß-cell mass, ß-cell proliferation, and ß-cell mass.

In this study, we investigated the role of GLP-1 on cell proliferation by studying the expression of the Ki-67 antigen, a nuclear protein expressed by dividing cells. Cell cycle analysis has shown that this protein is exclusively expressed during the cell division cycle in the late G1, S, and G2 phases as well as in mitosis, and it is absent in the G0 phase and early G1 phases. By immunofluorescence, we observed that the Ki-67 antigen was expressed both in controls and GLP-1-treated rats. However, in GLP-1-treated rats, the signal for Ki-67 was stronger in intensity and more widely distributed throughout the pancreatic parenchyma than in controls. Moreover, GLP-1-treated animals, but never saline-infused animals, presented Ki-67-positive cells as aggregates of cells, detected both within and outside the islets of Langerhans. When present among cells constituting the islets, those clusters of proliferating cells never costained for insulin. This could be explained by hypothesizing that GLP-1 is capable of switching on genes that are involved not only in ß-cell differentiation but also cell proliferation. Characteristically, in GLP-1-treated rats, the insulin-positive cells appeared to surround aggregates of Ki-67-positive cells. This was different from the appearance of the rare Ki-67-positive cells that were detected in control, saline-infused rats, in which they appeared only as isolated single cells scattered throughout the islets. The detection of cells that were Ki-67 positive but did contain detectable insulin could be attributed to the presence of cells that were actively dividing at the time of tissue harvesting but not yet differentiated. The characterization of these cells will need further studies.

The expression of insulin was higher in GLP-1-treated rats, and the size of the islets in this treatment group was consistently greater than in controls. GLP-1-treated rats had islets that were more irregular in shape as well as a greater number of small aggregates of few insulin-positive cells immersed within the exocrine parenchyma. This irregularity of the margins of the islets could be seen also in controls; however, it appeared significantly more represented after treatment with GLP-1.

An additional set of insulin-positive cells in GLP-1-treated ZDF rats was represented by cells that grew as a mono- or bilayer of cells surrounding small-sized ducts. Those aggregates of insulin-positive cells did not appear to be proximal to gain the appearance of islets, and they often tended to form a net of cells that extended around two or more small-sized ductal structures. Those layers of insulin-positive cells, displayed as a mantel around ducts, were only rarely observed in control rats.

Apoptosis, or programmed cell death, is a physiological mode of remodeling tissue during organogenesis and adulthood. Several studies have demonstrated that the pancreas is actively remodeled after birth and that cell apoptosis is an important mechanism in this process (20). Apoptotic cell death is an energy-requiring process that involves de novo synthesis of proteins. The process is characterized by morphological changes, including condensation of the nuclear chromatin, DNA fragmentation, cellular shrinkage, and the formation of apoptotic bodies, which are membrane-bound cellular constituents (21). Bonner-Weir and colleagues (14) have shown that the ZDF rat is a model for the failure of ß-cell compensation in the presence of an increase of insulin demand because of a preexisting insulin resistance state. This failure is caused by an excess of cell apoptosis in a setting in which cell replication, with age, becomes unable to compensate for the rate of cell loss. In ZDF rats, ß-cell mass and ß-cell replication rate are greater than in a partially outbred strain that develops obesity and insulin resistance but not diabetes (12, 13). Indeed, in ZDF rats, the onset of diabetes is caused by an excessive rate of ß-cell death, not by an inefficient replication capacity (14, 22).

In the present study, we confirmed the previously reported observation describing the presence of a very high percentage of apoptotic nuclei in the pancreas of ZDF rats (14). Apoptotic cells were detected throughout the entire pancreas, including both the exocrine and the endocrine components. Treatment with GLP-1 drastically reduced the number of apoptotic cells. The islets of Langerhans of GLP-1-treated rats had significantly fewer apoptotic nuclei, and the DAPI staining demonstrated that islet cells of animals in this treatment group were healthier and not subjected to the biological changes leading to cell apoptosis. Double immunostaining for insulin and caspase-3 further supported the evidence for an antiapoptotic action of GLP-1.

Quantitative analysis of ß-cell mass, ß-cell replication, and ß-cell apoptosis demonstrated the presence of heterogeneous and cooperative mechanisms by which ZDF rats improve their ß-cell function in response to GLP-1. Indeed, GLP-1 not only induced an increase in ß-cell replication, as suggested by previously reported findings in other animal models of diabetes and hyperglycemia (11, 18), but it was also responsible for a significant (a perhaps even more important) inhibition of ß-cell apoptosis. The latter is a newly identified biological property of GLP-1. Although in assessing mass and proliferation of insulin-producing cells, we applied a methodology extensively described by Pick et al. (14) and by Weibel (16), to assess the percentage of apoptotic ß-cells, we employed a minor modification of this technique. The number of apoptotic ß-cells was determined by counting the number of insulin-positive cells that showed the presence of fragmented nuclei. Although this approach may provide a good specificity assay to measure ß-cell apoptosis, it may be defective in sensitivity, providing a low estimate of the number of apoptotic cells. Indeed, the detection of cells with fragmented nuclei that still have a preserved cytoplasmic structure (i.e. still susceptible to be stained for the presence of insulin) may lead to miss that population of cells in which the regulation of factors leading to cell apoptosis has already began, but the morphological changes of cells nuclei are not yet detectable.

In conclusion, we provide evidence that GLP-1 ameliorates the glucose tolerance of ZDF rats by inhibiting cell apoptosis and promoting islet-cell proliferation. This finding may further support the clinical investigation for the use of GLP-1 in the treatment of diabetes in humans.


    Acknowledgments
 
We are very grateful to Patricia Merkel for the critical reading of the manuscript. We would also like to thank Nadia Zorapapel and Bill Pollard for their technical support.


    Footnotes
 
This work was supported in part by the American Federation for Aging Research.

Abbreviations: AUC, Area under the curve; DAPI, 4,6-diaminidino-2-phenyl-dihydrochloride; GLP-1, glucagon-like peptide-1; IPGTT, ip glucose tolerance test; TUNEL, terminal deoxynucleotide transferase-mediated dUTP-digoxigenin nick-end labeling; ZDF, Zucker diabetic fatty (rat).

Received April 15, 2002.

Accepted for publication July 23, 2002.


    References
 Top
 Abstract
 Introduction
 Materials and Methods
 Results
 Discussion
 References
 

  1. Orsakov C 1992 Glucagon-like peptide-1, a new hormone of the enteroinsular axis. Diabetologia 35:701–711[Medline]
  2. Nauck MA, Kleine N, Orskov C, Holst JJ, Willms B, Creutzfeldt W 1993 Normalization of fasting hyperglycemia by exogenous glucagon-like peptide-1 [7–36 amide] in type 2 (non-insulin dependent) diabetic patients. Diabetologia 36:741–744[CrossRef][Medline]
  3. Holst JJ 1994 Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) a newly discovered GI hormone. Gastroenterology 107:1848–1855[Medline]
  4. Thorens B 1992 Expression cloning of the pancreatic ß-cell receptor for the gluco-incretin hormone glucagon-like peptide 1. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 89:8641–8645[Abstract/Free Full Text]
  5. Fehmann H-C, Goke R, Goke B 1995 Cell and molecular biology of the incretin hormones glucagon-like peptide-1 and glucose-dependent insulin releasing polypeptide. Endocr Rev 16:390–410[Abstract/Free Full Text]
  6. Holz GG, Leech CA, Habener JF 1995 Activation of a cAMP-regulated Ca2+-signaling pathway in pancreatic ß-cells by the insulinotropic hormone glucagon-like peptide-1. J Biol Chem 270:17749–17757[Abstract/Free Full Text]
  7. Vilsboll T, Krarup T, Deacon CF, Madsbad S, Holst JJ 2001 Reduced postprandial concentrations of intact biologically active glucagon-like peptide 1 in type 1 and type 2 diabetic patients. Diabetes 50:609–613[Abstract/Free Full Text]
  8. Gutniak M, Orskov C, Holst JJ, Ahren B, Efendic S 1992 Antidiabetogenic effect of glucagon-like peptide-1 (7–36) amide in normal subjects and patients with diabetes mellitus. N Engl J Med 326:1316–1322[Abstract]
  9. Nauck MA, Kleine N, Orskov C, Holst JJ, Willms B, Creutzfeldt W 1993 Normalization of fasting hyperglycemia by exogenous glucagon-like peptide-1 [7–36 amide] in type 2 (non-insulin dependent) diabetic patients. Diabetologia 36:741–744
  10. Wang Y, Perfetti R, Greig NH, Holloway HW, DeOre KA, Montrose-Rafizadeh C 1997 Glucagon-like peptide-1 can reverse the age-related decline in glucose tolerance in rats. J Clin Invest 99:2883–2889[Medline]
  11. Xu G, Stoffers DA, Habener JF, Bonner-Weir S 1999 Exendin-4 stimulates both ß-cell replication and neogenesis, resulting in increased ß-cell mass and improved glucose tolerance in diabetic rats. Diabetes 48:2270–2276[Abstract]
  12. Kasiske BL, O’Donnell MP, Keane WF 1992 The Zucker rat model of obesity, insulin resistance, hyperlipidemia, and renal injury. Hypertension 19:110–115
  13. Clark JB, Palmer CJ, Shaw WN 1983 The diabetic Zucker fatty rat. Exp Biol Med 173:68–75[CrossRef][Medline]
  14. Pick A, Clark J, Kubstrup C, Levisetti M, Pugh W, Bonner-Weir S, Polonsky KS 1998 Role of apoptosis in failure of ß-cell mass compensation for insulin resistance and ß-cell defects in the male Zucker diabetic fatty rat. Diabetes 47:358–364[Abstract]
  15. Hui H, Farilla L, Merkel P, Perfetti R 2002 The short half-life of GLP-1 in plasma does not reflect its long-lasting biological activity. Eur J Endocrinol 146:863–869[Abstract]
  16. Weibel ER 1978 Stereologic methods. In: Practical methods for biologic morphometry. London: Academic Press; vol 1:101–161
  17. Montana E, Bonner-Weir S, Weir GC 1993 ß-Cell mass and growth after syngeneic islet cell transplantation in normal and streptozotocin diabetic C56BL/6 mice. J Clin Invest 91:780–787
  18. Perfetti R, Zhou J, Doyle ME, Egan JM 2000 Glucagon-like peptide-1 induces cell proliferation and pancreatic-duodenum homeobox-1 expression and increases endocrine cell mass in the pancreas of old, glucose-intolerant rats. Endocrinology 141:4600–4605[Abstract/Free Full Text]
  19. Trumper A, Trumper K, Trusheim H, Arnold R, Goke B, Horsch D 2001 Glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide is a growth factor for ß (INS-1) cells by pleitropic signaling. Mol Endocrinol 15:1559–1570[Abstract/Free Full Text]
  20. Scaglia L, Cahill CJ, Finegood DT, Bonner-Weir S 1997 Apoptosis participates in the remodeling of the endocrine pancreas in the neonatal rat. Endocrinology 138:1736–1741[Abstract/Free Full Text]
  21. Mandrup-Poulsen T 2001 ß-Cell apoptosis: stimuli and signaling. Diabetes 50(Suppl 1):S58–S63
  22. Finegood DT, McArthur MD, Kojwang D, Thomas MJ, Topp BG, Leonard T, Buckingham RE 2001 ß-Cell mass dynamics in Zucker diabetic fatty rats. Rosiglitazone prevents the rise in net cell death. Diabetes 50:1021–1029[Abstract/Free Full Text]



This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
Mol. Endocrinol.Home page
M. M. Sachdeva and D. A. Stoffers
Minireview: Meeting the Demand for Insulin: Molecular Mechanisms of Adaptive Postnatal ss-Cell Mass Expansion
Mol. Endocrinol., June 1, 2009; 23(6): 747 - 758.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
DiabetesHome page
S.-I. Tschen, S. Dhawan, T. Gurlo, and A. Bhushan
Age-Dependent Decline in {beta}-Cell Proliferation Restricts the Capacity of {beta}-Cell Regeneration in Mice
Diabetes, June 1, 2009; 58(6): 1312 - 1320.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
J. Pharmacol. Exp. Ther.Home page
L. Thomas, M. Tadayyon, and M. Mark
Chronic Treatment with the Dipeptidyl Peptidase-4 Inhibitor BI 1356 [(R)-8-(3-Amino-piperidin-1-yl)-7-but-2-ynyl-3-methyl-1-(4-methyl-quinazolin-2-ylmethyl)-3,7-dihydro-purine-2,6-dione] Increases Basal Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 and Improves Glycemic Control in Diabetic Rodent Models
J. Pharmacol. Exp. Ther., February 1, 2009; 328(2): 556 - 563.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
Pharmacol. Rev.Home page
W. Kim and J. M. Egan
The Role of Incretins in Glucose Homeostasis and Diabetes Treatment
Pharmacol. Rev., December 1, 2008; 60(4): 470 - 512.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
British Journal of Diabetes & Vascular DiseaseHome page
J. J. Holst
Pharmacology of GLP-1-based therapies
The British Journal of Diabetes & Vascular Disease, November 1, 2008; 8(2_suppl): S10 - S18.
[Abstract] [PDF]


Home page
Circ Heart FailHome page
I. Poornima, S. B. Brown, S. Bhashyam, P. Parikh, H. Bolukoglu, and R. P. Shannon
Chronic Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Infusion Sustains Left Ventricular Systolic Function and Prolongs Survival in the Spontaneously Hypertensive, Heart Failure-Prone Rat
Circ Heart Fail, September 1, 2008; 1(3): 153 - 160.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
DiabetesHome page
K. M. Picha, M. R. Cunningham, D. J. Drucker, A. Mathur, T. Ort, M. Scully, A. Soderman, T. Spinka-Doms, V. Stojanovic-Susulic, B. A. Thomas, et al.
Protein Engineering Strategies for Sustained Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Receptor-Dependent Control of Glucose Homeostasis
Diabetes, July 1, 2008; 57(7): 1926 - 1934.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
Toxicol PatholHome page
D. A. Nugent, D. M. Smith, and H. B. Jones
A Review of Islet of Langerhans Degeneration in Rodent Models of Type 2 Diabetes
Toxicol Pathol, June 1, 2008; 36(4): 529 - 551.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
Endocr. Rev.Home page
M. Salehi, B. A. Aulinger, and D. A. D'Alessio
Targeting {beta}-Cell Mass in Type 2 Diabetes: Promise and Limitations of New Drugs Based on Incretins
Endocr. Rev., May 1, 2008; 29(3): 367 - 379.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
Mol. Cell. Biol.Home page
S.-J. Kim, C. Nian, S. Widenmaier, and C. H. S. McIntosh
Glucose-Dependent Insulinotropic Polypeptide-Mediated Up-Regulation of {beta}-Cell Antiapoptotic Bcl-2 Gene Expression Is Coordinated by Cyclic AMP (cAMP) Response Element Binding Protein (CREB) and cAMP-Responsive CREB Coactivator 2
Mol. Cell. Biol., March 1, 2008; 28(5): 1644 - 1656.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
Diabetes CareHome page
E. Standl and O. Schnell
Insulin as a First-Line Therapy in Type 2 Diabetes: Should the use of sulfonylureas be halted?
Diabetes Care, February 1, 2008; 31(Supplement_2): S136 - S139.
[Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab.Home page
A. Vella and F. J. Service
Incretin Hypersecretion in Post-Gastric Bypass Hypoglycemia Primary Problem or Red Herring?
J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab., December 1, 2007; 92(12): 4563 - 4565.
[Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab.Home page
A. B. Goldfine, E. C. Mun, E. Devine, R. Bernier, M. Baz-Hecht, D. B. Jones, B. E. Schneider, J. J. Holst, and M. E. Patti
Patients with Neuroglycopenia after Gastric Bypass Surgery Have Exaggerated Incretin and Insulin Secretory Responses to a Mixed Meal
J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab., December 1, 2007; 92(12): 4678 - 4685.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
Physiol. Rev.Home page
J. J. Holst
The Physiology of Glucagon-like Peptide 1
Physiol Rev, October 1, 2007; 87(4): 1409 - 1439.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
The Diabetes EducatorHome page
J. Leahy
The Mechanisms of Action for Treatments of Type 2 Diabetes
The Diabetes Educator, May 1, 2007; 33(Supplement_5): 101S - 104S.
[Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
Endocr. Rev.Home page
B. L. Wajchenberg
{beta}-Cell Failure in Diabetes and Preservation by Clinical Treatment
Endocr. Rev., April 1, 2007; 28(2): 187 - 218.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
DiabetesHome page
K. Raun, P. von Voss, C. F. Gotfredsen, V. Golozoubova, B. Rolin, and L. B. Knudsen
Liraglutide, a Long-Acting Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Analog, Reduces Body Weight and Food Intake in Obese Candy-Fed Rats, Whereas a Dipeptidyl Peptidase-IV Inhibitor, Vildagliptin, Does Not
Diabetes, January 1, 2007; 56(1): 8 - 15.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
The Annals of PharmacotherapyHome page
R K. Campbell
Rationale for Dipeptidyl Peptidase 4 Inhibitors: A New Class of Oral Agents for the Treatment of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus
Ann. Pharmacother., January 1, 2007; 41(1): 51 - 60.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
DiabetesHome page
J. Mu, J. Woods, Y.-P. Zhou, R. S. Roy, Z. Li, E. Zycband, Y. Feng, L. Zhu, C. Li, A. D. Howard, et al.
Chronic Inhibition of Dipeptidyl Peptidase-4 With a Sitagliptin Analog Preserves Pancreatic {beta}-Cell Mass and Function in a Rodent Model of Type 2 Diabetes
Diabetes, June 1, 2006; 55(6): 1695 - 1704.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
DiabetesHome page
J. Buteau, M. L. Spatz, and D. Accili
Transcription Factor FoxO1 Mediates Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Effects on Pancreatic {beta}-Cell Mass.
Diabetes, May 1, 2006; 55(5): 1190 - 1196.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
The Diabetes EducatorHome page
D. J. Drucker
Incretin-based therapies: a clinical need filled by unique metabolic effects.
The Diabetes Educator, March 1, 2006; 32(2 Suppl): 65S - 71S.
[Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
The Diabetes EducatorHome page
D. J. Drucker
The evidence for achieving glycemic control with incretin mimetics.
The Diabetes Educator, March 1, 2006; 32(2 Suppl): 72S - 81S.
[Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab.Home page
A. Mari, W. M. Sallas, Y. L. He, C. Watson, M. Ligueros-Saylan, B. E. Dunning, C. F. Deacon, J. J. Holst, and J. E. Foley
Vildagliptin, a Dipeptidyl Peptidase-IV Inhibitor, Improves Model-Assessed {beta}-Cell Function in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes
J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab., August 1, 2005; 90(8): 4888 - 4894.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab.Home page
J. H. Schou, K. Pilgaard, T. Vilsboll, C. B. Jensen, C. F. Deacon, J. J. Holst, A. Volund, S. Madsbad, and A. A. Vaag
Normal Secretion and Action of the Gut Incretin Hormones Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 and Glucose-Dependent Insulinotropic Polypeptide in Young Men with Low Birth Weight
J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab., August 1, 2005; 90(8): 4912 - 4919.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
J. Biol. Chem.Home page
S.-J. Kim, K. Winter, C. Nian, M. Tsuneoka, Y. Koda, and C. H. S. McIntosh
Glucose-dependent Insulinotropic Polypeptide (GIP) Stimulation of Pancreatic {beta}-Cell Survival Is Dependent upon Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinase (PI3K)/Protein Kinase B (PKB) Signaling, Inactivation of the Forkhead Transcription Factor Foxo1, and Down-regulation of bax Expression
J. Biol. Chem., June 10, 2005; 280(23): 22297 - 22307.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
J Mol EndocrinolHome page
E. D'Amico, H. Hui, N. Khoury, U. Di Mario, and R. Perfetti
Pancreatic {beta}-cells expressing GLP-1 are resistant to the toxic effects of immunosuppressive drugs
J. Mol. Endocrinol., April 1, 2005; 34(2): 377 - 390.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
J EndocrinolHome page
G Uckaya, P Delagrange, A Chavanieu, G Grassy, M-F Berthault, A Ktorza, E Cerasi, G Leibowitz, and N Kaiser
Improvement of metabolic state in an animal model of nutrition-dependent type 2 diabetes following treatment with S 23521, a new glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) analogue
J. Endocrinol., March 1, 2005; 184(3): 505 - 513.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
Diabetes CareHome page
B. Ahren, R. Gomis, E. Standl, D. Mills, and A. Schweizer
Twelve- and 52-Week Efficacy of the Dipeptidyl Peptidase IV Inhibitor LAF237 in Metformin-Treated Patients With Type 2 Diabetes
Diabetes Care, December 1, 2004; 27(12): 2874 - 2880.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
Am. J. Physiol. Endocrinol. Metab.Home page
J.-L. Liu, K. T. Coschigano, K. Robertson, M. Lipsett, Y. Guo, J. J. Kopchick, U. Kumar, and Y. L. Liu
Disruption of growth hormone receptor gene causes diminished pancreatic islet size and increased insulin sensitivity in mice
Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab, September 1, 2004; 287(3): E405 - E413.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
DiabetesHome page
N. Ogawa, J. F. List, J. F. Habener, and T. Maki
Cure of Overt Diabetes in NOD Mice by Transient Treatment With Anti-Lymphocyte Serum and Exendin-4
Diabetes, July 1, 2004; 53(7): 1700 - 1705.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
Am. J. Physiol. Endocrinol. Metab.Home page
J. F. List and J. F. Habener
Glucagon-like peptide 1 agonists and the development and growth of pancreatic {beta}-cells
Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab, June 1, 2004; 286(6): E875 - E881.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
Am. J. Physiol. Endocrinol. Metab.Home page
D. A. D'Alessio and T. P. Vahl
Glucagon-like peptide 1: evolution of an incretin into a treatment for diabetes
Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab, June 1, 2004; 286(6): E882 - E890.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
EndocrinologyHome page
P. L. Brubaker and D. J. Drucker
Minireview: Glucagon-Like Peptides Regulate Cell Proliferation and Apoptosis in the Pancreas, Gut, and Central Nervous System
Endocrinology, June 1, 2004; 145(6): 2653 - 2659.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
J. Biol. Chem.Home page
G. Kwon, K. L. Pappan, C. A. Marshall, J. E. Schaffer, and M. L. McDaniel
cAMP Dose-dependently Prevents Palmitate-induced Apoptosis by Both Protein Kinase A- and cAMP-Guanine Nucleotide Exchange Factor-dependent Pathways in {beta}-Cells
J. Biol. Chem., March 5, 2004; 279(10): 8938 - 8945.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
EndocrinologyHome page
D. J. Drucker
Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 and the Islet {beta}-Cell: Augmentation of Cell Proliferation and Inhibition of Apoptosis
Endocrinology, December 1, 2003; 144(12): 5145 - 5148.
[Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
EndocrinologyHome page
L. Farilla, A. Bulotta, B. Hirshberg, S. Li Calzi, N. Khoury, H. Noushmehr, C. Bertolotto, U. Di Mario, D. M. Harlan, and R. Perfetti
Glucagon-Like Peptide 1 Inhibits Cell Apoptosis and Improves Glucose Responsiveness of Freshly Isolated Human Islets
Endocrinology, December 1, 2003; 144(12): 5149 - 5158.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
Diabetes CareHome page
D. J. Drucker
Enhancing Incretin Action for the Treatment of Type 2 Diabetes
Diabetes Care, October 1, 2003; 26(10): 2929 - 2940.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
EndocrinologyHome page
H. Hui, A. Nourparvar, X. Zhao, and R. Perfetti
Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Inhibits Apoptosis of Insulin-Secreting Cells via a Cyclic 5'-Adenosine Monophosphate-Dependent Protein Kinase A- and a Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinase-Dependent Pathway
Endocrinology, April 1, 2003; 144(4): 1444 - 1455.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
DiabetesHome page
D. A. Stoffers, B. M. Desai, D. D. DeLeon, and R. A. Simmons
Neonatal Exendin-4 Prevents the Development of Diabetes in the Intrauterine Growth Retarded Rat
Diabetes, March 1, 2003; 52(3): 734 - 740.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
Mol. Endocrinol.Home page
D. J. Drucker
Glucagon-Like Peptides: Regulators of Cell Proliferation, Differentiation, and Apoptosis
Mol. Endocrinol., February 1, 2003; 17(2): 161 - 171.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


This Article
Right arrow Abstract Freely available
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Request Copyright Permission
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Farilla, L.
Right arrow Articles by Perfetti, R.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Farilla, L.
Right arrow Articles by Perfetti, R.


HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
Endocrinology Endocrine Reviews J. Clin. End. & Metab.
Molecular Endocrinology Recent Prog. Horm. Res. All Endocrine Journals