title: Omega-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids May Attenuate Streptozotocin-Induced Pancreatic β-Cell Death via Autophagy Activation in Fat1 Transgenic Mice.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Inflammatory factors and β-cell dysfunction due to high-fat diets aggravate chronic diseases and their complications. However, omega-3 dietary fats have anti-inflammatory effects, and the involvement of autophagy in the etiology of diabetes has been reported. Therefore, we examined the protective effects of autophagy on diabetes using fat-1 transgenic mice with omega-3 self-synthesis capability.
  
  
  METHODS
  Streptozotocin (STZ) administration induced β-cell dysfunction in mice; blood glucose levels and water consumption were subsequently measured. Using hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) and Masson's trichrome staining, we quantitatively assessed STZ-induced changes in the number, mass, and fibrosis of pancreatic islets in fat-1 and control mice. We identified the microtubule-associated protein 1A/1B light chain 3-immunoreactive puncta in β-cells and quantified p62 levels in the pancreas of fat-1 and control mice.
  
  
  RESULTS
  STZ-induced diabetic phenotypes, including hyperglycemia and polydipsia, were attenuated in fat-1 mice. Histological determination using H&E and Masson's trichrome staining revealed the protective effects of the fat-1 expression on cell death and the scarring of pancreatic islets after STZ injection. In the β-cells of control mice, autophagy was abruptly activated after STZ treatment. Basal autophagy levels were elevated in fat-1 mice β-cells, and this persisted after STZ treatment. Together with autophagosome detection, these results revealed that n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) enrichment might partly prevent the STZ-related pancreatic islet damage by upregulating the basal activity of autophagy and improving autophagic flux disturbance.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Fat-1 transgenic mice with a n-3 PUFA self-synthesis capability exert protective effects against STZ-induced β-cell death by activating autophagy in β-cells.
authors.affiliation: Division of Nephrology, Department of Internal Medicine, Konyang University College of Medicine, Daejeon, Korea.|Myunggok Research Institute, Konyang University College of Medicine, Daejeon, Korea.
authors.forename: Won Min
authors.initials: WM
authors.lastname: Hwang
authors.affiliation: Myunggok Research Institute, Konyang University College of Medicine, Daejeon, Korea.|Department of Anatomy, Konyang University College of Medicine, Daejeon, Korea.
authors.forename: Dong Ho
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Bak
authors.affiliation: Division of Endocrinology, Department of Internal Medicine, Konyang University College of Medicine, Daejeon, Korea.
authors.forename: Dong Ho
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Division of Endocrinology, Department of Internal Medicine, Konyang University College of Medicine, Daejeon, Korea.
authors.forename: Ju Young
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Hong
authors.affiliation: Myunggok Research Institute, Konyang University College of Medicine, Daejeon, Korea.|Department of Anatomy, Konyang University College of Medicine, Daejeon, Korea.
authors.forename: Seung Yun
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Han
authors.affiliation: Division of Endocrinology, Department of Internal Medicine, Konyang University College of Medicine, Daejeon, Korea.
authors.forename: Keun Young
authors.initials: KY
authors.lastname: Park
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, Chungnam National University School of Medicine, Daejeon, Korea.|Cancer Research Institute, Chungnam National University School of Medicine, Daejeon, Korea.
authors.forename: Kyu
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Lim
authors.affiliation: Myunggok Research Institute, Konyang University College of Medicine, Daejeon, Korea.|Division of Endocrinology, Department of Internal Medicine, Konyang University College of Medicine, Daejeon, Korea. mdldm@hanmail.net.
authors.forename: Dong Mee
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Lim
authors.affiliation: Myunggok Research Institute, Konyang University College of Medicine, Daejeon, Korea.
authors.forename: Jae Gu
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Kang
keywords: Beta cell; Fat-1 transgenic mice; Omega 3 fatty