Mitochondrial-encoded gene regulation in rat pancreatic islets

Mitochondrial adenosine triphosphate (ATP) generation plays a major role in insulin secretion in pancreatic islet β cells. The relationship between age and nutritional status of the islet and mitochondrial gene messenger RNA (mRNA) expression was investigated. Three animal groups were studied: Infant (12-day-old) rats fed either mother's milk or a high carbohydrate (HC) diet; young (2 to 4-month-old) rats; and old (12 to 14-month-old) rats. The expression of mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase (CYO) (subunits I, II, and III), β-nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide, reduced form dehydrogenase subunit 4 (NADH-DH4), and ATP synthase (subunit 6) (ATP-SYN6) mRNAs was characterized by semiquantitative reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The mitochondrial gene mRNAs were identified in each of the groups of rat islets and in RINm5F cells. CYO-II mRNA expression in young and old rat pancreatic islets was 12.7- and 8.2-fold higher, respectively, compared with the level in infant rat islets. The expression of NADH-DH4 and ATP-SYN6 mRNAs was 47% lower, respectively, in young rat islets compared with the level in infant rat islets. CYO-I, CYO-III, and cytoplasmic glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GPDH) mRNA expression did not differ between experimental groups. Artificial rearing of infant rat pups on a HC diet for 8 days lead to a 3.3-fold increase in islet CYO-II mRNA expression compared with mother-fed pups. However, glucose (11 mmol/L) stimulation of cultured isolated islets from young and old rats for 4 days failed to affect the expression level of mitochondrial gene mRNAs. Thus, aging affected the differential expression of CYO-II, NADH-DH4, and ATP-SYN6 mRNAs in rat islets. CYO-II mRNA expression was modulated only in infant rat islets after in vivo administration of carbohydrate.