Examination of glycan-related gene expression in the livers of three groups of mice: wild-type, ad-lib-fed type 2 diabetic mice (db/db), and calorically restricted db/db mice. Mus musculus

Assembly of HSPGs in the liver is defective in diabetes mellitus. A major consequence is impaired clearance of post-prandial lipoproteins, which ordinarily depends on the binding of these particles to hepatic HSPGs. Impaired clearance leads to prolonged exposure of the arterial wall to these harmful lipoproteins. We pin-pointed suppression of NDST-1 in livers of type 1 diabetic rats as at least a partial explanation for defective HSPG assembly. Overall design: Dr. Williams' lab examined glycan-related gene expression in the livers of three groups of mice: wild-type, ad-lib-fed type 2 diabetic mice (db/db), and calorically restricted db/db mice (caloric restriction was shown several years ago to correct their clearance of atherogenic post-prandial lipoproteins). The results will indicate the molecular basis for defective HSPG assembly in type 2 diabetes, which is a question of considerable medical importance. RNA preparations from mice livers (wild-type, ad-lib-fed type 2 diabetic mice, and calorically restricted mice) were sent to Microarray Core (E). The RNA was amplified, labeled, and hybridized to GLYCO_v3 microarrays.