Objective: To determine whether the insulin receptor (IR), insulin-like growth factor-I receptor (IGF-IR), and IGF-I are expressed differentially in fibroblasts isolated from normal peritoneal and adhesion tissue before and after 24-hour treatment with increasing glucose concentrations.
Design: Prospective experimental study.
Setting: University medical center.
Patient(s): Primary cultures of fibroblasts established from peritoneal and adhesion tissues of the same patients.
Intervention(s): Glucose treatment of the primary cultured fibroblasts for 24 hours with increasing concentrations of glucose (100-850 mg/dL).
Main outcome measure(s): Real-time polymerase chain reaction was used to measure messenger RNA (mRNA) levels for IR, IGF-IR, and IGF-I. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used to determine protein levels.
Result(s): At the normal glycemic level (100 mg/dL), adhesion fibroblasts have significantly higher mRNA levels of the IR (7.96 +/- 0.15 vs. 6.97 +/- 0.16; P<.05), IGF-IR (7.72 +/- 0.22 vs. 6.88 +/- 0.06; P<.05), and IGF-I (7.04 +/- 0.10 vs. 5.92 +/- 0.10; P<.05) when compared with normal fibroblasts, respectively. Data are expressed as log(mRNA/microg RNA). Normal fibroblasts respond to increasing glucose concentrations by increasing the expression levels of the IR, IGF-IR, and IGF-I, whereas adhesion fibroblasts respond by decreasing the expression of the IR, IGF-IR, and IGF-I.
Conclusion(s): The differential expression of the IR, IGF-IR, and IGF-I in adhesion fibroblasts may contribute to the pathogenesis of fibrosis observed in diabetic patients.