Morphological and functional changes detected in rat adrenal cortex during the induction of insulin resistance by means of a sucrose-rich diet

MARTINEZ CALEJMAN C; REPETTO EM; ASTORT F; DI GRUCCIO JM; SANCHEZ R; MERCAU M; ARIAS P; CYMERYNG CB

San Diego, California, EEUU

Congreso; The Endocrine Society?s 92nd Annual Meeting; 2010

Endocrine Society

Hyperactivation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPAA) has been demonstrated both in humans and animals with insulin resistance (IR), but evidence on a direct adrenocortical impact of IR-associated abnormalities (e.g. elevated serum insulin, triacylglycerides and/or FFA levels, oxidative stress, inflammatory state) is lacking. We evaluated, in adult male Wistar rats fed a sucrose-enriched diet (SED, sucrose 30% w/v in drinking water), the presence of changes in adrenocortical structure and function (corticosterone secretion, insulin signaling, and expression of nitric oxide synthase (NOS) and cyclooxygenase 2 (COX-2), two well known local modulators of steroidogenesis).As compared to control animals, SED-treated rats showed, after 7 weeks, higher fasting serum glucose (130.6 vs. 74.5 mg/dl; p