Involvement of neuropeptide Y in glucose sensing in the dorsal hypothalamus of streptozotocin diabetic rats – in vitro and in vivo studies of transmitter release

Abstract

Aims. Within the brain, subgroups of neurons respond differently to altered glucose concentrations. Identification of neuropeptide Y in hypothalamic neurons that sense glucose suggests a role for neuropeptide Y in glucose sensing. Using in vitro and in vivo techniques to monitor transmitter release, we investigated whether lowering glucose concentration affects the release of neuropeptide Y from the brain, and whether this process is altered in Type I (insulin-dependent) diabetes mellitus. Methods. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were treated with 48 mg/kg streptozotocin or vehicle intravenously. The effect of reduced glucose on endogenous neuropeptide Y overflow from slices of hypothalamus and medulla incubated in Krebs solution was examined 4 weeks later. The hypothalamus was separated into a dorsal region containing the paraventricular nucleus and a ventral region containing the arcuate nucleus. Results. Streptozotocin-induced diabetes increased basal neuropeptide Y overflow in the dorsal and ventral hypothalamus (p<0.05) but not the medulla. In vitro neuropeptide Y overflow was reduced by low glucose in the dorsal hypothalamus in diabetic, but not in control rats. No effect of reduced glucose was observed in the ventral hypothalamus or medulla. In vivo push-pull studies in the paraventricular nucleus also showed greater neuropeptide Y overflow in diabetic rats relative to control rats (p<0.05). Insulininduced hypoglycaemia induced a decrease in neuropeptide Y overflow in diabetic rats, while an increase was observed in control rats (p<0.05). Conclusion. These region-specific effects of low glucose on neuropeptide Y overflow in diabetic rats support a part for neuropeptide Y in altered glucose sensing in Type I diabetes. [Diabetologia (2002[Diabetologia ( ) 45:1332[Diabetologia ( -1339

Distribution of neuropeptide Y Leu7Pro polymorphism in patients with type 1 diabetes and diabetic nephropathy among Swedish and American populations

“…A clinical study indicates that plasma immunoreactive (IR)-NPY and urinary IR-NPY concentrations are elevated in type 2 diabetic (T2D) patients with advanced nephropathy (10). Several studies, using T1D animal models such as the streptozotocin-diabetic rats, have demonstrated that NPY release is increased in the hypothalamus (11,12). The evidence implies that NPY may play a role in the pathogenesis of diabetes and DN.…”

The Diurnal Modulation of Hormonal Responses in the Rat Varies with Different Stimuli

“…Presently, it is still not known exactly how and at which site (decreasing) glucose concentrations are sensed. It is likely that both peripheral glucose sensors at the level of the pancreas, liver, portal vein and carotid bodies and central glucose sensing areas in the hypothalamus and brainstem contribute to the final response (46, 77–82). Information from peripheral as well as brainstem glucose sensors will be relayed directly to the CRH neurones via ascending noradrenergic and adrenergic fibres from the A1/C1 and A2/C2 cell groups in the brainstem (83).…”