Insulin degludec improves long-term glycaemic control similarly to insulin glargine but with fewer hypoglycaemic episodes in patients with advanced type 2 diabetes on basal-bolus insulin therapy.

The aim of the present study was to compare the long-term safety and efficacy of insulin degludec with those of insulin glargine in patients with advanced type 2 diabetes (T2D) over 78 weeks (the 52-week main trial and a 26-week extension). Patients were randomized to once-daily insulin degludec or insulin glargine, with mealtime insulin aspart ± metformin ± pioglitazone, and titrated to pre-breakfast plasma glucose values of 3.9-4.9 mmol/l (70-88 mg/dl). After 78 weeks, the overall rate of hypoglycaemia was 24% lower (p = 0.011) and the rate of nocturnal hypoglycaemia was 31% lower (p = 0.016) with insulin degludec in the extension trial set, while both groups of patients achieved similar glycaemic control. Rates of adverse events and total insulin doses were similar for both groups in the safety analysis set. During 18 months of treatment, insulin degludec + mealtime insulin aspart ± oral antidiabetic drugs in patients with T2D improves glycaemic control similarly, but confers lower risks of overall and nocturnal hypoglycaemia than with insulin glargine treatment.

Insulin degludec improves glycaemic control with lower nocturnal hypoglycaemia risk than insulin glargine in basal-bolus treatment with mealtime insulin aspart in Type 1 diabetes (BEGIN(®) Basal-Bolus Type 1): 2-year results of a randomized clinical trial.

AIMS: The goal of this study was to compare the long-term safety and efficacy of the basal insulin analogue, insulin degludec with insulin glargine (both with insulin aspart) in Type 1 diabetes, over a 2-year time period. METHODS: This open-label trial comprised a 1-year main trial and a 1-year extension. Patients were randomized to once-daily insulin degludec or insulin glargine and titrated to pre-breakfast plasma glucose values of 3.9-4.9 mmol/l. RESULTS: The rate of nocturnal confirmed hypoglycaemia was 25% lower with insulin degludec than with insulin glargine (P = 0.02). Rates of confirmed hypoglycaemia, severe hypoglycaemia and adverse events, and reductions in glycated haemoglobin and fasting plasma glucose were similar between groups. Despite achieving similar glycaemic control, insulin degludec-treated patients used 12% less basal and 9% less total daily insulin than did insulin glargine-treated patients (P < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Long-term basal therapy using insulin degludec in Type 1 diabetes required lower doses and was associated with a 25% lower risk for nocturnal hypoglycaemia than insulin glargine.

Genetic studies in NZB mice. V. Recombinant inbred lines demonstrate that separate genes control autoimmune phenotype.

The genetic basis for autoimmunity in NZB mice has been investigated through analysis of recombinant inbred lines produced by mating NZB mice with two different non-autoimmune strains. Several genes (at least six) were found to be necessary for the production of eight traits characteristic of the NZB mice that were studied. No fundamental genetic defect (an "autoimmunity gene") was identified that could give rise to the various autoimmune traits studied. This study strongly suggests that NZB disease results from the actions of several separate genes that together result in the characteristic manifestations of autoimmunity.

Genetic control of the antibody response to type 3 pneumococcal polysaccharide in mice. II. Relationship between IgM immunoglobulin levels and the ability to give an IgM antibody response.

Serum IgM immunoglobulin levels and antibody responses to an optimally immunogenic dose of Type III pneumococcal polysaccharide (SSS-III) were assessed for F(1), F(2), and backcross progeny derived from crosses between high responding BALB/cAnN (B) and low responding CBA/HN (C) mice. The results obtained confirmed our original hypothesis, namely, that a major component, present on the X chromosome, governs the ability to respond to SSS-III in a decisive manner. Although all low responding C mice had low IgM levels, both intermediate and high responders had high IgM levels of the same magnitude. Treatment with bacterial lipopolysaccharides (LPS) resulted in a significant increase in the IgM levels of low responding C mice. While the IgM levels attained were similar to those of high responding B mice, not given LPS, no antibody specific for LPS appeared to be produced. These findings suggest that C mice are unable to make an IgM antibody response to SSS-III and other polysaccharide antigens, despite the fact that they possess the capacity to synthesize normal amounts of IgM immunoglobulin.

Genetic control of the antibody response to type 3 pneumococcal polysaccharide in mice. I. Evidence that an X-linked gene plays a decisive role in determining responsiveness.

The IgM antibody response to Type III pneumococcal polysaccharide (SSS-III) was assessed in F(1), F(2), and backcross progeny derived from high (BALB/cAnN) and extremely low (CBA/HN) responding parental strains of inbred mice. The results of these studies indicated that a major component involved in the antibody response is X-linked, i.e., carried on the X chromosome; this component determines responsiveness to SSS-III in an almost quantal or "all-or-none" manner. Other factors, presumably autosomal genes, regulate the magnitude of the antibody response produced by mice possessing the X-linked gene; these appear to influence independently the number of antibody-producing cells found after immunization and the amount of antibody made by such cells. Strains of inbred mice varied widely in their ability to respond to SSS-III. Responsiveness was not associated with H-2 histocompatibility type. The implications of these findings with respect to the genetic control of the antibody response to SSS-III are discussed.

T cell abnormalities in NZB mice occur independently of autoantibody production.

By means of a series of crosses and backcrosses, ZB.CBA/N mice were prepared bearing largely NZB autosomal genes, but having X chromosomes derived only from CBA/N mice. The CBA/N X chromosome carries a gene, xid, that is associated with the lack of a B cell subset necessary for most of the spontaneous autoantibody production by NZB mice. These ZB.CBA/N mice failed to develop autoantibodies to T cells, erythrocytes, or DNA. The availability of mice that were mostly NZB, but which failed to make autoantibodies, especially anti-T cell antibodies, allowed us to study possible T cell regulatory defects in NZB mice in the absence of either antibodies reactive with such T cells or other autoantibodies. We found that such mice had derangements of T cell regulation as did the NZB mice. These observations strongly suggest that the t cell abnormalities of NZB mice are not caused by the B cell hyperactivity of these mice, but rather represent independent defects. Thus, NZB mice appear to have primary defects in both the B cell population and the T cell population. Whether or not these are separate, or derive from a common precursor cell abnormality, remains to be determined.

N:NIH(S)-nu/nu mice with combined immunodeficiency: a new model for human tumor heterotransplantation.

A new "nude" mouse model was developed by successive crossings and backcrossings between athymic nu/nu mice, on an N:NIH(S) background, and female CBA/N mice that have an X-linked immune defect in B-lymphocyte function. The resulting doubly congenic N:NIH(S(II-nu/nu mice maintained the marked thymic hypoplasia and poor development of hair of the nu/nu mice. In contrast to nu/nu and CBA/N mice, in this new mouse model both T-cell zones of lymph nodes and the spleen were depleted of lymphocytes. Lymphocytic follicles were rare and diminutive; not germinal centers were noted. The nodal cortical and paracortical areas were represented principally by connective tissue, endothelial cells, and macrophages, including giant multinucleated cells. No medullary cords were recognized. The mice with combined immunodeficiency supported the growth of human tumor xenografts and were susceptible to murine viral hepatitis.

C-Type virus particles in a cell line from a lymphosarcoma of a nude mouse.

C-type virus particles were observed by electron microscopy in cultures of a cell line (NML-1) derived from a lymphosarcoma that arose spontaneously in a nude NIH outbred mouse. The presence of such particles indicated that human tumors heterotransplanted in nude mice might become contaminated with murine oncornaviruses.

Lack of correlation between natural killer activity and tumor growth control in nude mice with different immune defects.

To elucidate the in vivo role of natural killer (NK) cells, the growth of several murine and human tumors was studied in four variants of athymic, nude mice with different levels of NK activity. Beige-nude mice, homozygous for both the beige and the nude genes, had very low levels of NK activity, and their response to the B-cell mitogen, bacterial lipopolysaccharide, was lower than that of high-NK, adult NIH nude mice. Young and adult NIH nudes had different NK levels and showed different response in assays for K-cell, T-cell, and B-cell activity. The B-cell-defective NIH-II mice had slightly lower NK levels than adult NIH animals, but much lower response in the antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity assay. No correlation was found between host NK activity and the s.c. growth of various human (LOX, CEM, K562) and murine (YAC-1) tumor cells. Low NK activity was not associated with increased lung colony formation in a metastasis model using i.v.-injected human (LOX) and murine (B16F10) melanoma cells. No relationship was found between host NK activity and the rate of elimination of i.v.-injected 5-iodo-2'-deoxyuridine-labeled LOX, B16F10, and YAC-1 cells from lungs, liver, or spleen. The results fail to support the view that NK cells exert significant direct effects on tumor cells in vivo.

Metabolic and underlying causes of diabetes mellitus.

It is emphasized that animal models should be used to study specific genotypic or phenotypic expressions associated with diabetes rather than assuming a single animal model can reflect diverse forms of the human disease. Diabetic and normal animals are reviewed on the basis of their usefulness as models of genetic, viral, and chemically induced diabetes, including the often associated immune phenomena. Characteristics of spontaneously diabetic animals with and without obesity are also described with an emphasis on both genetics and metabolic derangements. Recommendations for future animal experimentation include: more longitudinal studies evaluating the role of sex, prenatal environment, diet, and viral or chemical attack on B-cell function; characterization of the immune phenomena associated with B-cell lesions (and insulitis) in diabetic and immunologically incompetent lines; clarification of relationships between obesity and islet-cell function with emphasis on the role of fuel metabolism, vitamins, and minerals; and, finally, the development of new models with specific genetic aberrations placed in normal or diabetic lines.

Skin blisters and hair loss in a rat mutant called vibrissaeless.

A radiation-induced autosomal recessive mutant in the rat called vibrissaeless (vb), has been described and studied. Mutants have abnormal hair growth, the hairs being reduced in number and length. Mutant animals form blisters which then erode, crust, and heal without scars. The blisters can be artificially produced by friction and result from intraepidermal separation which is suprabasilar in position. To date, we cannot correlate this abnormality in rats with any known inherited human blistering disease.

Heart size in inbred strains of rats. Part 1. Genetic determination of the development of cardiovascular enlargement in rats.

The heart and aorta weights in 23 strains of rats and the four-way cross generation among the M520/N, SHRSP/N, SHR/N, and WKY/N strains were investigated in relation to their blood pressure in an attempt to characterize cardiovascular enlargement (increased weight of heart and aorta) from a genetic aspect. The distribution of blood pressure in these strains at 10 weeks of age was clearly divided into hypertensive and normotensive groups. In the hypertensive group, heart weight increased in proportion to blood pressure. In contrast, there was no relationship between blood pressure and heart weight in the normotensive group in spite of large strain differences in heart weights. The result of variance analysis exhibited a significant strain difference in heart weight, and the degree of genetic determination was estimated to be 65%-75%. A similar genetic influence was apparent for normotensive strains excluding hypertensive strains. The distribution of blood pressures in the four-way cross generation showed the segregation of three phenotypes consisting of normotensive, intermediate and hypertensive groups. A large variability was seen in heart weight of each group. However, the increase in average heart weight of these three groups was very small. The degree of genetic determination from the cross analysis was estimated to be 45%-65%. These results indicate that heart weight is a highly heritable trait, and that the effect of genetic factors on cardiac enlargement is larger than that of blood pressure. A similar result was obtained for the aorta weight. However, the effect of genetic factors was less important for aorta weight than for heart weight since the degree of genetic determination was estimated to be 45%-65% from the strain comparison and 35%-60% from the cross analysis.

Heart size in inbred strains of rats. Part 2. Cardiovascular DNA and RNA contents during the development of cardiac enlargement in rats.

Enlargement and nucleic acid content of the cardiovascular system of several strains (SHRSP/N, SHR/N, OM/N, M520/N) of rats were compared with the WKY/N strain in an attempt to characterize cardiac enlargement. Cardiac enlargement in rats can be due to either hypertrophy (increase in myocyte size), hyperplasia (increase in cell number including supporting tissue), or a combination of both. The sum of the indices of the degree of hypertrophy and hyperplasia calculated from the difference of the heart and aorta deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) concentration and total DNA content between each strain and the WKY/N was almost equal to the degree of heart and aorta enlargement. The SHRSP/N revealed a striking hypertrophy of myocardial cells from the prehypertensive stage, and hyperplasia appeared gradually with the elevation of blood pressure. In contrast, the SHR/N developed a marked hyperplasia with some hypertrophy at the prehypertensive stage. Cardiac enlargement of the OM/N was attributed to both hypertrophy and hyperplasia. A large heart weight of the M520/N was recognized at only a young age, and was due almost entirely to hyperplasia. Aortic enlargements were related to hyperplasia. An increased ribonucleic acid (RNA) concentration was observed in both ventricles of the SHRSP/N, SHR/N, and M520/N rats at 4 weeks of age, and in all of the four strains at 16 weeks of age. A significantly higher RNA concentration was indicated in the aorta of three hypertensive strains of SHRSP/N, SHR/N, and OM/N at established hypertensive stage. These changes might be related to manifestations of genetic or other factors such as the effect of elevated blood pressure.

Effect of dietary sucrose on the SHR/N-corpulent rat: a new model for insulin-independent diabetes.

A new congenic strain of genetically obese rat, SHR/N-corpulent (cp), was studied. Young male corpulent (cp/cp) and lean (cp/+ or +/+) rats approximately 5 wk of age were fed a diet containing 54% carbohydrate as either sucrose or cooked cornstarch for 9 wk. A phenotype effect was observed with body weight, fasting levels of serum insulin, triglyceride and total cholesterol, levels of serum insulin and glucose after an oral glucose load, and level of urine glucose (corpulent greater than lean), and with systolic blood pressure (corpulent less than lean). Only lean rats were hypertensive. Corpulent rats were hyperinsulinemic, hyperlipidemic, exhibited glycosuria, and were hyperglycemic after an oral glucose load. Lean rats were hyperinsulinemic, but normoglycemic. A diet effect (sucrose greater than starch) was observed with body weight, level of serum glucose after an oral glucose load, and urine volume in both corpulent and lean rats, and with levels of serum insulin and total urine glucose in corpulent rats. Corpulent rats fed sucrose had 20 to 40% higher levels of serum glucose and insulin after an oral glucose load, and twice the amount of total urine glucose, than did corpulent rats fed starch. The data demonstrate that corpulent rats have metabolic characteristics associated with insulin-independent diabetes in humans and that sucrose is more diabetogenic than starch. Manifestation of hyperglycemia in this model may be the result of superimposing obesity on an insulin-resistant genetic background.

Recruitment of antigen-nonspecific cells plays a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of a T cell-mediated organ-specific autoimmune disease, experimental autoimmune uveoretinitis.

Experimental autoimmune uveoretinitis (EAU) is a prototypic T cell-mediated autoimmune disease, whose target tissue is the neural retina, that is used as a model for a number of human blinding ocular diseases of a presumed autoimmune nature. EAU in rats can be induced by adoptive transfer of small numbers of retinal antigen-specific CD4+ T cell lines. Although recruitment mechanisms were assumed to play a role in the immunopathogenesis of uveitis, there is no direct evidence that would permit assessment of the importance of recruited non-antigen-specific T cells in retinal autoimmunity. In the present study, we addressed this question by using congenitally athymic Lewis rats (LEW.rnu/rnu), that are deficient in functional endogenous T cells, but are otherwise syngeneic with the euthymic Lewis rats that develop characteristically severe EAU. The uveitogenic stimulus was delivered in the form of phenotypically and functionally homogeneous pathogenic T cell lines, specific to the major pathogenic epitope of either the intracellular photoreceptor protein, S-Ag, or the extracellular photoreceptor matrix protein, IRBP. Depending on the T cell line used, EAU in athymic rats was either drastically reduced in severity (IRBP), or essentially absent (S-Ag). Susceptibility was restored when the athymic animals were reconstituted with immunocompetent T cells from syngeneic euthymic donors. While the intraocular infiltrate in euthymic rats was predominantly lymphocytic, with smaller numbers of monocyte/macrophages and even fewer neutrophils, the sparse infiltrate in athymics was largely monocytic, and with a relatively high proportion of neutrophils and eosinophils. Reconstituted animals had an intermediate histological picture with respect to the infiltrating cell types and disease severity. Our data are consistent with the interpretation that recruitment of naive T cells constitutes an amplification mechanism that is central to the expression and pathogenesis of uveitis. The extent of dependence on this phenomenon appears to be influenced by the antigenic specificity of the T cell line, and could be connected to the 'accessibility' of the target antigen in vivo.

The origin of the autoimmune disease-resistant LER rat: an outcross between the buffalo and autoimmune disease-prone Lewis inbred rat strains.

The Lewis (LEW) rat strain is highly susceptible to a large number of experimentally induced inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. The Lewis resistant (LER) rat strain, which reportedly arose as a spontaneous mutation in a closed colony of LEW rats, is resistant to many of these disorders. The mechanism of resistance is not yet clear. We report the analysis of 19 simple dinucleotide repeat polymorphisms in 13 rat strains including the LEW/N and LER/N rat strains. The LEW/N and LER/N alleles were the same in only 42% of cases. For all of the other polymorphisms, the LER/N and Buffalo (BUF/N) rat strain alleles were identical. These data provide evidence that the LER strain did not arise as a spontaneous mutation in the LEW strain but is the result of an outcross between the LEW and BUF rat strains. The LER rat strain is now a recombinant inbred rat strain. This information should facilitate the genetic analysis of the loci responsible for resistance to experimental autoimmune disease in the LER rat.

A difference in mortality between two strains of jaundiced rats.

Homozygous Gunn rats lack bilirubin glucuronyltransferase, become jaundiced, and often develop kernicterus, thus providing a model for neonatal hyperbilirubinemia. Two new, inbred rat strains that carry the Gunn mutation are described. These were developed by breeding the mutant Gunn gene (j) into the RHA/N and ACI/N strains, producing the new lines, which were designated RHA/N-j and ACI/N-j. Liver assay confirmed the absence of transferase activity in jaundiced rats from both of the new strains, but marked differences in mortality between the strains were observed. The mortality of jaundiced RHA/N-j rats through 8 weeks was the same as that of their nonjaundiced littermates (20%). In contrast, mortality of jaundiced ACI/N-j rats was distinctly greater than that of their nonjaundiced littermates (81% vs 34%, P less than .001). Signs of kernicterus such as ataxia were much more frequent in jaundiced ACI/N-j rats than in jaundiced RHA/N-j rats (73% vs 11%, P less than .001). Both strains had comparable albumin concentrations through 8 weeks of age. Serum bilirubin concentrations were also comparable, except for a small but significant difference at 20 days of age (ACI/N-j = 294 mumols/L, RHA/N-j = 248 mumols/L, P less than .01). Similarly, the bilirubin-to-albumin ratios were comparable except for a significantly higher ratio at 20 days of age in the ACI/N-j rats (ACI/N-j = 0.70, RHA/N-j = 0.51, P less than .01). Thus, the RHA/N-j strain is unusual in that the jaundiced animals remain healthy. Conversely, the ACI/N-j animals demonstrate a high incidence of kernicterus with mortality.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Early upregulation of medium neurofilament gene expression in developing spinal cord of the wobbler mouse mutant.

Homozygous wobbler mouse mutants develop a progressive paralysis due to spinal motoneuron degeneration. To understand the molecular aspect underlying the genetic defect we have studied the embryonic (from E13) and postnatal expression of the three neurofilament and choline acetyltransferase genes in each member from several wild-type (wt) and wobbler (wr) progenies. There are no variations among wt littermates at all ages studied. In contrast, analyses of neurofilament mRNA reveals a 3-4-fold increase of medium neurofilament (NFM) mRNA in wobbler mice (wr/wr). The pattern of increased NFM mRNA during development, prior to the appearance of the wobbler phenotype, among littermates (from heterozygous carriers) conforms to a mendelian inheritance of a single gene defect 1:2:1 (wr/wr:wr/+:+/+). Light and heavy neurofilament mRNA levels are also increased later in development exclusively in those individuals with high NFM mRNA values indicating that increase of the latter is associated with increase of the light and heavy subunit expression. Also NF proteins are increased. Expression of choline acetyltransferase gene is instead always comparable to normal control. Our study provides novel insights into the nature of the wobbler defect, strengthening the hypothesis that neurofilament accumulation plays a pivotal role in the etiopathogenesis of motoneuron degeneration.

Development and characteristics of a new strain of obese hyperinsulinemic and hyperlipidemic Dahl salt-sensitive rat. The Dahl salt-sensitive/NIH-corpulent rat.

A new congenic rat strain, the Dahl salt-sensitive/NIH-corpulent (DSS/N-cp) rat, has been developed to study the role of obesity and type of dietary carbohydrate in the development of hypertension and its complications. Three groups (n = 6) of young male obese and lean DSS/N-cp rats were fed diets containing either 54% sucrose, 18% sucrose plus 36% starch, or 54% starch, with 0.1% dietary sodium for 12 weeks. Regardless of the diet, obese and lean rats showed mildly elevated systolic blood pressure (SBP), being significantly higher in obese than in lean rats (SBP 156 +/- 5 mm Hg v 141 +/- 3 mm Hg, P < .05). However, SBP was not different between the three diet groups. Levels of serum insulin, triglyceride, and cholesterol as well as urinary protein excretion were significantly higher in obese than in lean rats. Obese rats fed the sucrose diets as compared to the starch diet, had higher serum insulin and lipid levels, but had lower body weights and higher serum creatinine levels. Histopathologic examination of tissues from different organs revealed a vasculopathy seen almost exclusively in obese rats fed the sucrose diets. Vascular lesions were characterized by subintimal fibrin deposition, fibrinoid necrosis, and cell proliferation with "onion skinning" in small arteries and arterioles of kidneys, intestine, pancreas, and testes.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Long-term effects of perindopril on metabolic parameters and the heart in the spontaneously hypertensive/NIH-corpulent rat with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus and hypertension.

The spontaneously hypertensive/NIH-corpulent (SHR/N-cp) rat is a genetic model that exhibits both non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) and hypertension. To determine the impact of long-term treatment with the long-acting angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor perindopril (PE) on the glucose metabolism, lipid levels, and heart in this model, studies were performed in three groups of SHR/N-cp rats maintained on a diet containing 54% carbohydrate with 18% sucrose and 36% starch. One group of obese rats received PE (0.5 to 1.0 mg/kg body weight/d) for 3 to 4 months, a second group of obese rats received no treatment, and a third group of lean rats were used as controls. The mean systolic blood pressure (SBP) increased gradually in both untreated obese and lean rats, with lean animals showing slightly higher levels compared with untreated obese rats. By contrast, SBP was reduced to normal levels in PE-treated obese rats throughout the treatment period. Compared with lean rats, obese rats showed significantly higher body weight and fasting serum levels of glucose, insulin, total cholesterol (TC), and triglyceride (TG). However, no significant differences were observed in these metabolic parameters between PE-treated and untreated obese rats. Plasma renin activity measured at the end of the treatment period was significantly higher in PE-treated rats compared with untreated obese and untreated lean rats. The mean heart weight and left ventricular weight, expressed in absolute terms or indexed to body weight, were significantly lower in PE-treated versus untreated obese and untreated lean rats. To further determine whether glucose metabolism is directly affected by PE treatment, in vitro glycogen synthesis was evaluated in isolated soleus muscles obtained from three additional groups of animals. The basal rate of muscle glycogen synthesis was significantly lower in obese compared with lean rats (P < .05), but did not differ between PE-treated and untreated obese rats. Maximal insulin-stimulated glycogen synthesis increased threefold in PE-treated obese rats, but this increase did not differ from the increases observed in untreated obese and lean rats. In conclusion, the present study shows that long-term PE treatment in obese SHR/N-cp rats with NIDDM and hypertension effectively controlled systemic arterial pressure and resulted in a significant reduction in left ventricular weight. However, these favorable effects of PE were not associated with significant improvement in glucose tolerance, hyperinsulinemia, and hyperlipidemia in this model. PE also had no direct stimulatory effects on either basal or insulin-mediated glycogen synthesis in the isolated soleus muscle of obese rats, perhaps because of the severe insulin-resistant state of the animals. Our results support the clinical observations that antihypertensive therapy with ACE inhibitors has neutral effects on glucose metabolism and insulin sensitivity in patients with combined hypertension and NIDDM.