Mitochondrial changes and associated alterations induced in mice by streptozotocin administered in vivo and in vitro

Transport of Ca2+ and Ca2+-Dependent Permeability Transition in Rat Liver Mitochondria under the Streptozotocin-Induced Type I Diabetes

Although diabetes mellitus is known to be a disease associated with mitochondrial dysfunction, not everything is clear about mitochondrial Ca²⁺ transport and Ca²⁺-induced permeability transition in diabetic cells. The objective of this work was to study the operation of MCU and Ca²⁺-dependent mitochondrial permeabilization in the liver cells of Sprague-Dawley rats under the streptozotocin-induced type I diabetes. It was shown that two weeks after the induction of diabetes, the rate of Ca²⁺ uptake by the mitochondria of diabetic animals increased ~1.4-fold. The expression of MCU and MICU1 subunits did not change, yet the quantity of dominant-negative MCUb channel subunits was almost twice as lower. The organelles also became more resistant to the induction of CsA-sensitive MPT pore and less resistant to the induction of CsA-insensitive palmitate/Ca²⁺-induced pore. The mitochondria of diabetic liver cells also showed changes in the lipid matrix of their membranes. The content of fatty acids in the membranes grew, and microviscosity of the lipid bilayer (assessed with laurdan) increased. At the same time, lipid peroxidation (assessed by the production of malonic dialdehyde) was stimulated. The paper discusses the consequences of the diabetes-related changes in mitochondria in the context of cell physiology.

Elucidation of Molecular Mechanisms of Streptozotocin-Induced Oxidative Stress, Apoptosis, and Mitochondrial Dysfunction in Rin-5F Pancreatic β-Cells

Streptozotocin is a pancreatic beta-cell-specific cytotoxin and is widely used to induce experimental type 1 diabetes in rodent models. The precise molecular mechanism of STZ cytotoxicity is however not clear. Studies have suggested that STZ is preferably absorbed by insulin-secreting β-cells and induces cytotoxicity by producing reactive oxygen species/reactive nitrogen species (ROS/RNS). In the present study, we have investigated the mechanism of cytotoxicity of STZ in insulin-secreting pancreatic cancer cells (Rin-5F) at different doses and time intervals. Cell viability, apoptosis, oxidative stress, and mitochondrial bioenergetics were studied. Our results showed that STZ induces alterations in glutathione homeostasis and inhibited the activities of the respiratory enzymes, resulting in inhibition of ATP synthesis. Apoptosis was observed in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Western blot analysis has also confirmed altered expression of oxidative stress markers (e.g., NOS and Nrf2), cell signaling kinases, apoptotic protein-like caspase-3, PARP, and mitochondrial specific proteins. These results suggest that STZ-induced cytotoxicity in pancreatic cells is mediated by an increase in oxidative stress, alterations in cellular metabolism, and mitochondrial dysfunction. This study may be significant in better understanding the mechanism of STZ-induced β-cell toxicity/resistance and the etiology of type 1 diabetes induction.

Hepatic changes of mice in the subacute phase of streptozotocin (SZ)-induced diabetes

Hepatic changes of mice in the subacute phase of streptozotocin (SZ)-induced diabetes were investigated biochemically and pathologically. Biochemically, the contents of serum glucose and of serum and liver lipids increased while the content of liver glycogen decreased in SZ-induced diabetic mice. Histopathologically, hypertrophy of hepatocytes due to an increase in number of intracytoplasmic acidophilic granules was common to SZ-induced diabetic mice. Electron microscopically, these hepatocytes were characterized by a prominent increase in number of mitochondria showing normal structure, a marked decrease of glycogen granules and poorly developed rough endoplasmic reticulum, which were common to so-called oncocytic cells. In some SZ-induced diabetic mice, bile duct hyperplasia with an appearance of cytomegalic hepatocytes was also observed.

Insulin infusion stimulates daily food intake and body weight gain in diabetic rats

Current theories state that physiological levels of insulin inhibit daily food intake and reduce body weight. To test whether insulin induces satiety, systematically increasing doses of insulin from 2.0 to 5.0 U/day were infused intravenously into streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. Food intake increased significantly from 70.0 +/- 1.4 kcal/day during the saline baseline up to 102.2 +/- 1.9 kcal/day in the 3.5 U/day insulin infusion and then stabilized at 95.9 +/- 0.5 kcal/day for the remaining doses (p less than 0.05). Retained energy values (kcal of food intake minus kcal of urinary glucose loss) also increased from 69.9 +/- 1.4 kcal/day to stabilize at 95 kcal/day (p less than 0.001). Food intake and retained energy of normal controls remained unchanged at 75.4 +/- 1.6 kcal/day for the duration of the study. With elevated food intake and retained energy values after the 3.5 U/day insulin dose, the diabetic rats gained more weight than the normal controls (p less than 0.01). Contrary to expectations, increasing the amount of insulin infused through the physiological range results in a 40% increase in daily food intake and a rapid gain in body weight.

Effects of sodium nitroprusside on blood glucose concentration, B-cell morphology and islet glutamate dehydrogenase activity in mice

Mice injected with sodium nitroprusside (NaNP) exhibited a marked, transient hyperglycemia and enhanced activity of glutamate dehydrogenase in the pancreatic islets. Ultrastructurally, the islet B-cells of NaNP-treated mice showed expanded granular endoplasmic reticulum, prominent Golgi complex, increased amount of secretory granules, mitochondrial enlargement and vacuolation, and mitochondrion-secretory granule complexes. Stereological analyses disclosed increased volume of endoplasmic reticulum, Golgi complex and mitochondria, and increased number of secretory granules in the B-cells 1 h after the injection of NaNP. Isolated mouse islets exposed to NaNP showed stimulated activity of glutamate dehydrogenase both in the presence of 2 and 18 mM glucose, whereas the release of insulin was stimulated at 2 mM glucose, but inhibited at 18 mM glucose. The observations demonstrate that NaNP induces transiently altered structure and function in mouse islet B-cells.