Insulin prevents aberrant mitochondrial phenotype in sensory neurons of type 1 diabetic rats.

Insulin prevents aberrant mitochondrial phenotype in sensory neurons of type 1 diabetic rats. Exp Neurol. 2017 Aug 10;: Authors: Aghanoori MR, Smith DR, Chowdhury SR, Sabbir MG, Calcutt NA, Fernyhough P Abstract Diabetic neuropathy affects approximately 50% of diabetic patients. Down-regulation of mitochondrial gene expression and function has been reported in both human tissues and in dorsal root ganglia (DRG) from animal models of type 1 and type 2 diabetes. We hypothesized that loss of direct insulin signaling in diabetes contributes to loss of mitochondrial function in DRG neurons and to development of neuropathy. Sensory neurons obtained from age-matched adult control or streptozotocin (STZ)-induced type 1 diabetic rats were cultured with or without insulin before determining mitochondrial respiration and expression of mitochondrial respiratory chain and insulin signaling-linked proteins. For in vivo studies age-matched control rats and diabetic rats with or without trace insulin supplementation were maintained for 5months before DRG were analyzed for respiratory chain gene expression and cytochrome c oxidase activity. Insulin (10nM) significantly (P<0.5) increased phosphorylation of Akt and P70S6K by 4-fold and neurite outgrowth by 2-fold in DRG cultures derived from adult control rats. Insulin also augmented the levels of selective mitochondrial respiratory chain proteins and mitochondrial bioenergetics parameters in DRG cu...
Source: Experimental Neurology - Category: Neurology Authors: Tags: Exp Neurol Source Type: research