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The endocrine pancreas in non‐diabetic rats after short‐term and long‐term treatment with the long‐acting GLP‐1 derivative NN2211
Author(s) -
BOCK TROELS,
PAKKENBERG BENTE,
BUSCHARD KARSTEN
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
apmis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.909
H-Index - 88
eISSN - 1600-0463
pISSN - 0903-4641
DOI - 10.1111/j.1600-0463.2003.apm1111207.x
Subject(s) - term (time) , endocrine system , medicine , pancreas , endocrinology , diabetes mellitus , derivative (finance) , hormone , economics , physics , quantum mechanics , financial economics
Glucagon‐like peptide 1 (GLP‐1) and GLP‐1 receptor agonists increase the beta‐cell mass in rodent models of type 2 diabetes and enhance the proliferation rate of beta cells in vitro, while the long‐term effect in vivo in non‐diabetic animals is unknown. We studied the endocrine pancreas in non‐diabetic Sprague‐Dawley rats after short‐ and long‐term treatment with NN2211, an acetylated long‐acting derivative of GLP‐1. Four groups of rats (n=6 for each group) received two daily injections with either NN2211 or vehicle for 1 or 6 weeks. NN2211‐treated rats displayed a 10% lower body weight after both 1 week (p<0.001) and 6 weeks (p<0.005) of treatment. The mean beta‐cell mass in NN2211‐treated rats was increased by 19% after 1 week of treatment (p<0.05), but normalized after 6 weeks of treatment. No difference in alpha‐cell mass, volume‐weighted mean islet volume, or pancreas mass was found after 1 or 6 weeks of treatment. We conclude that NN2211 treatment of non‐diabetic rats induces a sustained lower body weight, and an only temporary increase in the beta‐cell mass, while the alpha‐cell mass and the volume‐weighted mean islet volume are unaffected by the treatment.