ABSTRACT
Objective To observe the effect of liraglutide, an analogue of glucagon like peptide-1 (GLP-1), on the expression of PDX-1 gene in the islet beta cells of type 2 diabetes rats. Methods Sixty male SD rats were divided into 3 groups:normal control group, diabetic model group and GLP-1 group. Normal control group was given normal diet and diabetic model group and GLP-1 group were given high fat diet. After the eighth weekend, the high fat diet group was intraperitoneally injected with streptozotocin (STZ) 30 mg/(kg·bw), and the GLP-1 group was subcutaneously injected with liraglutide 200μg/kg with 2 times per day for 8 weeks. The other groups were treated with normal saline by subcutaneous injection. Real-time fluorescent quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (Real-Time RT-PCR) was used to detect the expression of PDX-1 gene in rat pancreatic islet cells. Results The expressions of PDX-1 mRNA in the GLP-1 group and untreated group were significantly lower (P <0.001) than that in the normal control group, but significantly higher than that after GLP-1treatment (P < 0.001). Conclusion GLP-1 can upregulate the expression of PDX-1 gene in the islet beta cells of type 2 diabetes rats.