The Effects of High Concentration Glucose and Insulin on the Activation of Pancreatic Stellate Cells and Expression of Galectin-3

Abstract: This work was aimed to investigate the effects of high concentration glucose (25 mmol/L) and insulin on activation， proliferation， extracellular matrix (ECM) production and expression of galectin-3 (Gal-3) in pancreatic stellate cells (PSCs). PSCs were isolated and cultured in vitro， then were divided into low glucose control group (5 mmol/L)， high glucose group (25 mmol/L)， high insulin group (5 mmol/L glucose+100 nmol/L insulin) and high glucose and high insulin group (25 mmol/L glucose+100 nmol/L insulin). The protein levels of insulin receptor (IR) and insulin-like growth factor-1 receptor (IGF-1R) were determined by immunofluorescence staining.The cell proliferation was assessed by MTT assay. The mRNA and protein levels of α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA)，type I collagen (ColI)， fibronectin (Fn) and Gal-3 were measured by RT-PCR and Western blot， respectively. The results showed that PSCs expressed receptors for both insulin and IGF-1. Compared with low concentration glucose (5 mmol/L)， PSCs proliferation was significantly enhanced by high concentration glucose or insulin. The mRNA and protein levels of α-SMA， ColI， Fn and Gal-3 were also significantly increased by high concentration glucose， high concentration insulin and in particular the combination of both. High concentration glucose and insulin induced PSCs activation and increased PSCs proliferation， ECM production and Gal-3 expression， which may involve in development and progression of pancreatic fibrosis.

CSTR: 32200.14.cjcb.2017.02.0004