Premium
Specific reg II gene overexpression in the non‐obese diabetic mouse pancreas during active diabetogenesis
Author(s) -
Baeza N,
Sanchez D,
Vialettes B,
Figarella C
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
febs letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.593
H-Index - 257
eISSN - 1873-3468
pISSN - 0014-5793
DOI - 10.1016/s0014-5793(97)01241-6
Subject(s) - nod , nod mice , pancreas , gene , gene expression , complementary dna , biology , diabetes mellitus , islet , endocrinology , messenger rna , medicine , pancreatic islets , microbiology and biotechnology , genetics
The reg gene, previously described in islets of 90% pancreatectomized and nicotinamide‐treated rats, has been shown to be expressed in many pharmacological or surgical animal models of beta cell regeneration. We have studied the non‐obese diabetic (NOD) mouse, which represents a good model of spontaneous autoimmune diabetes in which regenerative processes have recently been demonstrated. Two reg genes have been described in the mouse genome, both recognized by the human reg cDNA. In a previous work, using the human probe, we have demonstrated a strong correlation between pancreatic reg gene expression and the likelihood of developing diabetes. In the present study, we have examined the respective levels of both mouse reg I and reg II mRNA in the NOD mouse pancreas using their specific cDNA probes. We found that reg II expression was specifically prevalent compared to reg I, irrespective of sex or state of the disease. Reg II mRNA was particularly increased in overtly diabetic female mice and in cyclophosphamide‐treated male mice. These data underline the need to study separately the reg genes using specific probes and show that both reg genes are subjected to various regulations, strongly suggesting that their physiological functions may be different.