Upregulation of glucose metabolism by granulocyte-monocyte colony-stimulating factor

Developmental expression of Magmas in murine tissues and its co-expression with the GM-CSF receptor

Magmas is a protein that is involved in GM-CSF signaling in a myeloid cell line. Its precise role in the signal transduction process is unclear. To accurately characterize Magmas expression in a variety of cells, mouse embryos and adult murine tissues were analyzed for both mRNA and protein content. Magmas expression was detected as early as the day 6.5 embryo. The level of expression was developmentally regulated. During embryogenesis, elevated Magmas was observed in several structures, including heart, liver, notochord, choroid plexus, cervical ganglion, and nasal mucosa. Muscle, pancreas, intestinal mucosa, and testes were among the adult tissues with high Magmas expression. Most cell types, including hepatocytes and skeletal, smooth, and cardiac myocytes, also expressed the GM-CSF receptor (GMR) but the relative tissue levels of GMR were not always proportional to Magmas. The expression patterns suggest that Magmas has a role in both developing and mature tissues.

Alterations in fuel metabolism in critical illness: hyperglycaemia

Hyperglycaemia is common during critical illness and may be viewed teleologically as a means of ensuring an adequate supply of glucose for the brain and phagocytic cells. Under normal conditions, euglycaemia is maintained by neural, hormonal and hepatic autoregulatory mechanisms. Critical illness promotes hyperglycaemia through an activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, which in turn increases hepatic glucose production and inhibits insulin-mediated glucose uptake to skeletal muscle. Sustained hyperglycaemia is associated with adverse consequences that demand its control. Appropriate management includes discontinuing causative drugs, correcting hypokalaemia, treating infection and administering insulin. Insulin therapy also appears to be useful for promoting an anabolic response in skeletal muscle.