Changes of neuron-specific and apoptosis gene expression levels after ventromedial hypothalamic lesions in rat intestine

Thioredoxin-1 Overexpression in the Ventromedial Nucleus of the Hypothalamus Preserves the Counterregulatory Response to Hypoglycemia During Type 1 Diabetes in Male Rats

We previously showed that the glutathione precursor, N-acetylcysteine (NAC), prevented hypoglycemia-associated autonomic failure (HAAF) and impaired activation of ventromedial hypothalamus (VMH) glucose-inhibited (GI) neurons by low glucose after recurrent hypoglycemia (RH) in nondiabetic rats. However, NAC does not normalize glucose sensing by VMH GI neurons when RH occurs during diabetes. We hypothesized that recruiting the thioredoxin (Trx) antioxidant defense system would prevent HAAF and normalize glucose sensing after RH in diabetes. To test this hypothesis, we overexpressed Trx-1 (cytosolic form of Trx) in the VMH of rats with streptozotocin (STZ)-induced type 1 diabetes. The counterregulatory response (CRR) to hypoglycemia in vivo and the activation of VMH GI neurons in low glucose using membrane potential sensitive dye in vitro was measured before and after RH. VMH Trx-1 overexpression normalized both the CRR and glucose sensing by VMH GI neurons in STZ rats. VMH Trx-1 overexpression also lowered the insulin requirement to prevent severe hyperglycemia in STZ rats. However, like NAC, VMH Trx-1 overexpression did not prevent HAAF or normalize activation of VMH GI neurons by low glucose in STZ rats after RH. We conclude that preventing HAAF in type 1 diabetes may require the recruitment of both antioxidant systems.

Changes of the expressions of immune-related genes after ventromedial hypothalamic lesioning. Systematic review of the literature

Over the past 20 years, the functional autonomy of both the immune and central nervous systems has been successfully challenged. Although the ventromedial hypothalamus (VMH) is one of the centers of parasympathetic nervous system, to date, there has been little reported regarding the role of the hypothalamus in directly changing the expression of immune-related genes. Recently, it has been reported that VMH lesions can directly change the expression of immune-related gene families. The present review focuses on the relationships between the VMH and the expressions of immune-related genes.