title: Pancreatic beta-cell replication and amelioration of surgical diabetes by Reg protein.
abstract: We previously isolated from a rat regenerating islet cDNA library a gene named Reg, which is expressed in regenerating islets but is not expressed in normal islets. Here we examined the effect of rat Reg protein on pancreatic beta-cell replication using both 90% depancreatized rats and isolated islets. The depancreatized rats that received i.p. administration of recombinant rat Reg protein (1 mg/kg per day) for 2 months showed amelioration of the surgical diabetes, as evidenced by a significant decrease in blood glucose with an increased beta-cell mass in the residual pancreas. In isolated rat islets, Reg protein (18-180 nM: 0.3-3 micrograms/ml) significantly increased [3H]thymidine incorporation into the nuclei of beta cells. These results indicate that Reg protein is a growth factor for pancreatic beta cells and also suggest that the administration of Reg protein could be used as another therapeutic approach for diabetes mellitus.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, Tohoku University School of Medicine, Sendai, Japan.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Watanabe
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yonemura
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yonekura
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Suzuki
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Miyashita
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sugiyama
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Moriizumi
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Unno
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Tanaka
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kondo
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002135:Calcium-Binding Proteins / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002455:Cell Division; D003921:Diabetes Mellitus, Experimental / Q000188:drug therapy*; D007515:Islets of Langerhans / Q000502:physiology*; D051847:Lithostathine; D008297:Male; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; D010180:Pancreatectomy; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D012038:Regeneration
chemical_list: D002135:Calcium-Binding Proteins; D051847:Lithostathine; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; C497616:Reg1a protein, rat