Background/Aims: Metabolic syndrome has been identified as one of the most significant threats to human health in the 21^st century. Exercise training has been shown to counteract obesity and metabolic syndrome. The present study aimed to investigate the effects of moderate exercise training on pancreatic beta-cell function and autonomic nervous system (ANS) activity in rats fed a high-fat diet (HFD). Methods: Weaning rats were divided into four groups: rats fed a standard chow or HFD (sedentary, Control-SED and HFD-SED; or exercised, Control-EXE and HFD-EXE, respectively). Exercised rats ran (from 21- to 91-days-old) for 60 minutes (3 times/week) over a 10-week period. Glucose and insulin tolerance tests were performed. Pancreatic islets were isolated to study glucose-induced insulin secretion (GIIS). Parasympathetic and sympathetic nerve electrical signals were measured, and liver samples were processed and histologically analyzed. Results: Exercise prevented obesity, insulin resistance, and liver steatosis as well as improved total cholesterol, ALT, and AST levels. Islets from HFD rats showed insulin hypersecretion which was ameliorated by exercise. Exercise decreased vagal nerve activity in the HFD-EXE group and increased the activity of the sympathetic nervous system in both exercised groups. Conclusion: Exercise prevents obesity and liver steatosis and restores pancreatic beta-cell function and ANS activity in HFD-obese rats.

Nutritional insults during developmental plasticity have been linked with metabolic diseases such as diabetes in adulthood. We aimed to investigate whether a low-protein (LP) diet at the beginning of adulthood is able to program metabolic disruptions in rats. While control rats ate a normal-protein (23%; NP group) diet, treated rats were fed a LP (4%; LP group) diet from 60 to 90 days of age, after which an NP diet was supplied until they were 150 days old. Plasma levels of glucose and insulin, autonomous nervous system (ANS), and pancreatic islet function were then evaluated. Compared with the NP group, LP rats exhibited unchanged body weight and reduced food intake throughout the period of protein restriction; however, after the switch to the NP diet, hyperphagia of 10% (P!0.05), and catch-up growth of 113% (P!0.0001) were found. The LP rats showed hyperglycemia, insulin resistance, and higher fat accretion than the NP rats. While the sympathetic tonus from LP rats reduced by 28%, the vagus tonus increased by 21% (P!0.05). Compared with the islets from NP rats, the glucose insulinotropic effect as well as cholinergic and adrenergic actions was unaltered in the islets from LP rats. Protein restriction at the beginning of adulthood induced unbalanced ANS activity and fat tissue accretion later in life, even without functional disturbances in the pancreatic islets.

Background/ Aims: Impaired pancreatic beta cell function and insulin secretion/action are a link between obesity and type 2 diabetes, which are worldwide public health burdens. We aimed to characterize the muscarinic acetylcholine receptor (mAChR) M₁-M₄ subtypes in isolated pancreatic islets from pre-diabetic obese rats that had been treated neonatally with monosodium L-glutamate (MSG). Methods: At 90 days of age, both the MSG and the control groups underwent biometric and biochemical evaluation. Anti-muscarinic drugs were used to study mAChR function either in vivo or in vitro. Results: The results demonstrated that atropine treatment reduced insulin secretion in the MSG-treated and control groups, whereas treatment with an M₂mAChR-selective antagonist increased secretion. Moreover, the insulinostatic effect of an M₃mAChR-selective antagonist was significantly higher in the MSG-treated group. M₁mAChR and M₃mAChR expression was increased in the MSG-obese group by 55% and 73%, respectively. In contrast, M₂mAChR expression decreased by 25% in the MSG group, whereas M₄mAChR expression was unchanged. Conclusions: Functional changes in and altered content of the mAChR (M₁-M₄) subtypes are pivotal to the demand for high pancreatic beta cell insulin secretion in MSG-obese rats, which is directly associated with vagal hyperactivity and peripheral insulin resistance.

Background/Aims: The objective of the current work was to test the effect of metformin on the tumor growth in rats with metabolic syndrome. Methods: We obtained pre-diabetic hyperinsulinemic rats by neonatal treatment with monosodium L-glutamate (MSG), which were chronically treated every day, from weaning to 100 day old, with dose of metformin (250 mg/kg body weight). After the end of metformin treatment, the control and MSG rats, treated or untreated with metformin, were grafted with Walker 256 carcinoma cells. Tumor weight was evaluated 14 days after cancer cell inoculation. The blood insulin, glucose levels and glucose-induced insulin secretion were evaluated. Results: Chronic metformin treatment improved the glycemic homeostasis in pre-diabetic MSG-rats, glucose intolerance, tissue insulin resistance, hyperinsulinemia and decreased the fat tissue accretion. Meanwhile, the metformin treatment did not interfere with the glucose insulinotropic effect on isolated pancreatic islets. Chronic treatment with metformin was able to decrease the Walker 256 tumor weight by 37% in control and MSG rats. The data demonstrated that the anticancer effect of metformin is not related to its role in correcting metabolism imbalances, such as hyperinsulinemia. However, in morphological assay to apoptosis, metformin treatment increased programmed cell death. Conclusion: Metformin may have a direct effect on cancer growth, and it may programs the rat organism to attenuate the growth of Walker 256 carcinoma.

Impaired pancreatic b-cell function, as observed in the cases of early nutrition disturbance, is a major hallmark of metabolic diseases arising in adulthood. In the present study, we aimed to investigate the function/composition of the muscarinic acetylcholine receptor (mAChR) subtypes, M 2 and M 3 , in the pancreatic islets of adult offspring of rats that were protein malnourished during lactation. Neonates were nursed by mothers that were fed either a low-protein (4 %, LP) or a normal-protein (23 %, NP) diet. Adult rats were pre-treated with anti-muscarinic drugs and subjected to the glucose tolerance test; the function and protein expression levels of M 2 mAChR and M 3 mAChR were determined. The LP rats were lean and hypoinsulinaemic. The selective M 2 mAChR antagonist methoctramine increased insulinaemia by 31 % in the NP rats and 155 % in the LP rats, and insulin secretion was increased by 32 % in the islets of the NP rats and 88 % in those of the LP rats. The selective M 3 mAChR antagonist 4-diphenylacetoxy-N-methylpiperidine methiodide decreased insulinaemia by 63 % in the NP rats and 40 % in the LP rats and reduced insulin release by 41 % in the islets of the NP rats and 28 % in those of the LP rats. The protein expression levels of M 2 mAChR and M 3 mAChR were 57 % higher and 53 % lower, respectively, in the islets of the LP rats than in those of the NP rats. The expression and functional compositions of M 2 mAChR and M 3 mAChR were altered in the islets of the LP rats, as a result of metabolic programming caused by the protein-restricted diet, which might be another possible effect involved in the weak insulin secretion ability of the islets of the programmed adult rats.