Effects of triiodothyronine and bovine growth hormone on glucose transporter isoform-2 (GLUT-2) and glucokinase (GK) gene expression in pancreatic islets of fetal and adult rats

This study was conducted to determine the effects of triiodothyronine (T-3) and bovine growth hormone (bGH) on the expression of glucose transporter-2 (GLUT-2) and of glucokinase (GK) from pancreatic islets of fetal and adult rats. Incubation of both sets of pancreatic islets with T-3 did not modify GLUT-2 mRNA levels, but did reduce the content of GLUT-2 protein, while it reduced the expression of GK mRNAs in fetal and adult pancreatic islets. Treatment of fetal and adult pancreatic islets with 1 mug/ml bGH did not alter the expression of GLUT-2 mRNAs, but significantly increased GLUT-2 protein levels in adult islets by 50%. Also, bGH had no effect on the GK mRNA content of fetal and adult pancreatic islets whereas, in contrast, there was a significant reduction in the amount of GK protein in fetal islets cultured with that hormone but not in those corresponding to adult rats. These findings suggest that T-3 and bGH are able to modulate the expression of GLUT-2 and GK mRNAs and proteins in pancreatic islets in a manner different from that in the liver, as previously reported by others. In addition, both hormones produced different responses in fetal and in adult pancreatic islets.