Somatostatin secretion in diabetic rabbits

Area of Science:

• Endocrinology
• Metabolic Disorders
• Animal Models

Background:

• Spontaneous hyperglycemia in New Zealand white rabbits is characterized by low insulin levels.
• This rabbit model offers a unique opportunity to study diabetes pathogenesis.
• Understanding beta cell function in this model is crucial for diabetes research.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate glucose, somatostatin-like immunoreactivity (SLI), and glucagon levels in diabetic rabbits.
• To assess insulin and SLI content in pancreatic islets of diabetic and normal rabbits.
• To characterize the defect in insulin release in this spontaneous diabetes model.

Main Methods:

• Portal vein blood samples were collected during glucose infusion in diabetic and normal rabbits.
• Glucose, SLI, and glucagon concentrations were measured.
• Insulin and SLI were extracted and quantified from isolated pancreatic islets.

Main Results:

• Diabetic rabbits showed a moderate decrease in insulin content per islet, but not per microgram of protein.
• SLI content per islet was similar to controls, but increased per microgram of protein.
• Portal and peripheral plasma concentrations of SLI and glucagon were comparable between diabetic and control rabbits.

Conclusions:

• The studied rabbit colony develops diabetes with reduced beta cell mass.
• The remaining beta cells in these diabetic rabbits have a significant defect in insulin secretion.
• This model is valuable for studying beta cell dysfunction in diabetes.