Biomaterial Database

A quantitative description of the insulin-induced ultrastructural changes in newborn rat hepatocytes. 1993

D B Maintas, and O B Kotoulas, and A O Kotoulas

Department of Anatomy, Histology and Embryology, Medical School, University of Ioannina, Greece.

The effects of insulin on the ultrastructure of newborn rat hepatocytes were systematically quantified at satisfactory statistical significance. Insulin prevented the normal postnatal increase in the total volume of lysosomes and the breakdown of glycogen inside these organelles. The lysosomal glycogen-hydrolysing enzyme, acid alpha 1,4 glucosidase was inhibited by the hormone. Insulin also prevented the normal postnatal increase in the total volume of peroxisomes, especially of the crystalloid core-devoid type. The hormone produced an increase in the area of cell membrane, due to the formation of many irregular folds of the cell surface. These results constitute good evidence for participation of lysosomes and peroxisomes in the overall glycogen degradation and or gluconeogenesis in the newborn rat hepatocytes.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D007328	Insulin	A 51-amino acid pancreatic hormone that plays a major role in the regulation of glucose metabolism, directly by suppressing endogenous glucose production (GLYCOGENOLYSIS; GLUCONEOGENESIS) and indirectly by suppressing GLUCAGON secretion and LIPOLYSIS. Native insulin is a globular protein comprised of a zinc-coordinated hexamer. Each insulin monomer containing two chains, A (21 residues) and B (30 residues), linked by two disulfide bonds. Insulin is used as a drug to control insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (DIABETES MELLITUS, TYPE 1).	Iletin,Insulin A Chain,Insulin B Chain,Insulin, Regular,Novolin,Sodium Insulin,Soluble Insulin,Chain, Insulin B,Insulin, Sodium,Insulin, Soluble,Regular Insulin
D008099	Liver	A large lobed glandular organ in the abdomen of vertebrates that is responsible for detoxification, metabolism, synthesis and storage of various substances.	Livers
D008112	Liver Glycogen	Glycogen stored in the liver. (Dorland, 28th ed)	Hepatic Glycogen,Glycogen, Hepatic,Glycogen, Liver
D008247	Lysosomes	A class of morphologically heterogeneous cytoplasmic particles in animal and plant tissues characterized by their content of hydrolytic enzymes and the structure-linked latency of these enzymes. The intracellular functions of lysosomes depend on their lytic potential. The single unit membrane of the lysosome acts as a barrier between the enzymes enclosed in the lysosome and the external substrate. The activity of the enzymes contained in lysosomes is limited or nil unless the vesicle in which they are enclosed is ruptured or undergoes MEMBRANE FUSION. (From Rieger et al., Glossary of Genetics: Classical and Molecular, 5th ed).	Autolysosome,Autolysosomes,Lysosome
D008854	Microscopy, Electron	Microscopy using an electron beam, instead of light, to visualize the sample, thereby allowing much greater magnification. The interactions of ELECTRONS with specimens are used to provide information about the fine structure of that specimen. In TRANSMISSION ELECTRON MICROSCOPY the reactions of the electrons that are transmitted through the specimen are imaged. In SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPY an electron beam falls at a non-normal angle on the specimen and the image is derived from the reactions occurring above the plane of the specimen.	Electron Microscopy
D008930	Mitochondria, Liver	Mitochondria in hepatocytes. As in all mitochondria, there are an outer membrane and an inner membrane, together creating two separate mitochondrial compartments: the internal matrix space and a much narrower intermembrane space. In the liver mitochondrion, an estimated 67% of the total mitochondrial proteins is located in the matrix. (From Alberts et al., Molecular Biology of the Cell, 2d ed, p343-4)	Liver Mitochondria,Liver Mitochondrion,Mitochondrion, Liver
D011247	Pregnancy	The status during which female mammals carry their developing young (EMBRYOS or FETUSES) in utero before birth, beginning from FERTILIZATION to BIRTH.	Gestation,Pregnancies
D005087	Glucan 1,4-alpha-Glucosidase	An enzyme that catalyzes the hydrolysis of terminal 1,4-linked alpha-D-glucose residues successively from non-reducing ends of polysaccharide chains with the release of beta-glucose. It is also able to hydrolyze 1,6-alpha-glucosidic bonds when the next bond in sequence is 1,4.	1,4-alpha-Glucosidase, Exo,Amyloglucosidase,Exo-1,4-alpha-Glucosidase,Glucoamylase,gamma-Amylase,Glucoamylase G1,Glucoamylase G2,1,4-alpha-Glucosidase, Glucan,Exo 1,4 alpha Glucosidase,Glucan 1,4 alpha Glucosidase,gamma Amylase
D005260	Female		Females
D000818	Animals	Unicellular or multicellular, heterotrophic organisms, that have sensation and the power of voluntary movement. Under the older five kingdom paradigm, Animalia was one of the kingdoms. Under the modern three domain model, Animalia represents one of the many groups in the domain EUKARYOTA.	Animal,Metazoa,Animalia