title: Quantitative Assessment of Proliferative Effects of Oral Vanadium on Pancreatic Islet Volumes and Beta Cell Numbers of Diabetic Rats.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Oral vanadyl sulfate (vanadium) induces normoglycemia, proliferates beta cells and prevents pancreatic islet atrophy in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. Soteriological method is used to quantitate the proliferative effects of vanadium on beta-cell numbers and islet volumes of normal and diabetic rats.
  
  
  METHODS
  Adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were made diabetic with intravenous streptozotocin injection (40 mg/kg). Normal and diabetic rats were divided into four groups. While control normal and diabetic (CD) groups used water, vanadium-treated normal (VTN) and diabetic (VTD) groups used solutions containing vanadyl sulfate (0.5-1 mg/mL, VOSO4+5H2O). Tail blood samples were used to measure blood glucose (BG) and plasma insulin. Two months after treatment, rats were sacrificed, pancreata prepared, and stereology method was used to quantitatively evaluate total beta cell numbers (TBCN) and total islet volumes (TISVOL).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Normoglycemia persisted in VTN with significantly decreased plasma insulin (0.19±0.08 vs. 0.97±0.27 ng/dL, P<0.002). The respective high BG (532±49 vs. 144±46 mg/dL, P<0.0001) and reduced plasma insulin (0.26±0.15 vs. 0.54±0.19 ng/dL, P<0.002) seen in CD were reversed in VTD during vanadium treatment or withdrawal. While the induction of diabetes, compared to their control, significantly decreased TISVOL (1.9±0.2 vs. 3.03±0.6 mm3, P<0.003) and TBCN (0.99±0.1 vs. 3.2±0.2 x 106, P<0.003), vanadium treatment significantly increased TISVOL (2.9±0.8 and 4.07±1.0 mm3, P<0.003) and TBCN (1.5±0.3 and 3.8±0.6 x 106, P<0.03).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Two-month oral vanadium therapy in STZ-diabetic rats ameliorated hyperglycemia by partially restoring plasma insulin. This action was through proliferative actions of vanadium in preventing islet atrophy by increasing beta-cell numbers.
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Physiology, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
authors.forename: Leila
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Pirmoradi
authors.affiliation: Histomorphometry and Stereology Research Center, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
authors.forename: Ali
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Noorafshan
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Pathology, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
authors.forename: Akbar
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Safaee
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Physiology, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.|Endocrine and Metabolism Research Center, Nemazi hospital, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
authors.forename: Gholam Abbas
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Dehghani
mesh_terms: D000284:Administration, Oral; D000818:Animals; D002452:Cell Count; D049109:Cell Proliferation / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D003921:Diabetes Mellitus, Experimental / Q000097:blood* / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D007328:Insulin / Q000097:blood; D050417:Insulin-Secreting Cells / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D007515:Islets of Langerhans / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D014639:Vanadium / Q000008:administration & dosage*
chemical_list: D007328:Insulin; D014639:Vanadium
keywords: Islet volumes; Pancreas; Rats; Vanadium