Metabolism of glomerular basement membrane in normal, hypophysectomized, and growth-hormone-treated diabetic rats

Biosynthetic regulation of proteoglycans by aldohexoses and ATP

Biosynthetic regulation of renal glomerular heparan sulfate-proteoglycans by various aldohexoses (mannose, glucose, and galactose) was investigated. Isolated kidneys were perfused for 5 hr with medium containing [35S]sulfate, to label sulfated proteoglycans, or [35S]methionine, to label total glomerular proteins. All the hexoses, above 10 mM concentration, caused a significant decrease in the de novo synthesis of [35S]sulfate-labeled proteoglycans. The relative effectiveness of the hexoses was as follows: mannose much greater than glucose greater than galactose. The proteoglycans were of relatively lower molecular weights and exhibited reduced charge-density characteristics. Autoradiographic studies revealed a 2- to 3-fold decrease of grain density over the glomerular basement membrane and mesangial compartments, and immunoprecipitable heparan sulfate-proteoglycans were similarly decreased 2- to 3-fold. There was no significant decrease in the total [35S]methionine-labeled glomerular proteins or immunoprecipitable type IV collagen and laminin. Cellular ATP levels were dramatically reduced in all groups, and the maximal depletion was caused by mannose. Addition of ATP (0.1-1.0 mM) to the perfusion medium resulted in the normalization of the de novo synthesis and of the biochemical characteristics of heparan sulfate-proteoglycans. The relevance of decreased de novo synthesis of proteoglycans due to the depletion of ATP in hyperglycemic states is discussed in terms of increased glomerular permeability to plasma proteins, as seen in diabetes mellitus.

Kidney IGF-I and renal hypertrophy in GH-deficient diabetic dwarf rats

Insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) has been proposed as a renotropic factor in initial diabetic kidney growth. To examine the effects of an isolated growth hormone (GH) and IGF-I deficiency on diabetic renal hypertrophy, dwarf rats were made diabetic and studied over a period of 7 days. Diabetic dwarf rats treated with human GH (hGH) or insulin and diabetic rats with intact pituitary were used as controls. In diabetic control animals kidney weight had increased by day 2 (P less than 0.01), and the increase amounted to 27% after 7 days, whereas untreated diabetic dwarf rats had a slower and lesser degree of kidney weight increase, reaching significance on day 7 only, amounting to 8%. hGH administration in diabetic dwarf rats increased the kidney weight on day 7 when compared with untreated diabetic dwarf rats (P less than 0.05) and was 19% over that of insulin-treated diabetic dwarf rats. The glomerular volume had increased by 43% in untreated diabetic control rats at day 7, compared with a 29% increase in untreated diabetic dwarf rats (P less than 0.05). hGH administration in diabetic dwarf rats increased the glomerular volume by 46%, comparable to the increase seen in diabetic control animals. Kidney IGF-I was increased on day 2 by 51 and 46% in saline- and hGH-injected diabetic dwarf rats, respectively, but a significantly higher increase in kidney IGF-I amounting to 96% was seen in diabetic control rats.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Collagen metabolism in the myocardium of normal and diabetic rats

Myocardial collagen and total protein synthesis were studied in normal, diabetic, and insulin-treated diabetic rats after a single intraperitoneal injection of L-[2,3-3H]proline as a radioisotopic precursor. The incorporation of tritiated proline into myocardial protein was regarded as a measure of total protein synthesis and the incorporation into hydroxyproline as indicative of myocardial collagen synthesis. Both total protein and collagen synthesis were found to be significantly lower in diabetic rats. This was associated with decreased degradation of both total protein and collagen in diabetic rats, as suggested by prolonged turnover times. Collagen content was also found to be increased in diabetic myocardium. Early insulin therapy with normalization of blood sugars in diabetic rats returned myocardial collagen metabolism to normal. This suggests that maintenance of euglycemia in diabetic rats is necessary to prevent abnormal myocardial collagen metabolism.

Arginine induced growth hormone (hGH) response and paradoxical hGH secretion stimulated by TRH in diabetes mellitus

Growth hormone (hGH) reserve following arginine administration and the paradoxical hGH response to thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) were studied in 30 diabetics without evidence of vascular complications. The diabetics were divided into 4 groups according to the type of their disease and to the metabolic condition within the IDDM group (insulin-dependent: IDDM, in acceptable response and in poor metabolic control; non-insulin-dependent: NIDDM, and juvenile diabetics not requiring insulin at least for two years after diagnosing their disease: NIDDY). The results were compared with controls of identical age and normal weight. A paradoxical hGH response to TRH stimulation was found only in IDDM patients in poor metabolic control. In this group the hGH reserve revealed by arginine was significantly larger than in the others. It was shown that the induced hGH release was independent of the sex distribution of the groups and of the basal hGH values. Magnitude of the hGH reserve and appearance of the paradoxical hGH response were not necessarily correlated but the substantial reserve was frequently associated with a paradoxical response. It can be assumed that the unfavorable metabolic condition is of decisive importance in giving rise to these anomalies. Our observations seem to confirm the need for good metabolic control if the pathological hGH secretion in diabetics is to be prevented.

Metabolism of glomerular basement membrane in short- and long-term streptozotocin diabetic rats

The synthesis of glomerular basement membrane (GBM) total protein and collagen was assessed by two methods in vivo in normal and streptozotocin diabetic rats 4-6 weeks and 42-44 weeks after onset of hyperglycaemia, using L-[2, 3, 3H] proline as a radioactive precursor. The incorporation of tritiated proline into GBM hydroxyproline was used as a measure of collagen synthesis and that into proline as total protein synthesis. The basement membrane fractions from both short- and long-term diabetic rats attained much higher proline and hydroxyproline specific activities compared to normal GBM proline and hydroxyproline specific activities. Early insulin therapy with normalization of blood sugar levels in short-term (4-6 weeks) diabetic rats returned the abnormal increases in GBM total protein and collagen synthesis to normal. By contrast, poor glycaemic control with insulin did not prevent the increases in GBM protein synthesis. The results of the present study suggest that overall enhancement of GBM protein synthesis occurs in both short- and long-term streptozotocin diabetes. Early insulin therapy with normalization of blood sugar levels prevents this increase in GBM protein synthesis. Poor glycaemic control had no effect on abnormal GBM protein synthesis. This may be of potential significance in view of preventing chronic diabetic microvascular complications such as nephropathy.