The different effect of pioglitazone as compared to insulin on expression of hepatic and intestinal genes regulating post-prandial lipoproteins in diabetes

Abstract This study investigates lipoprotein composition in diabetes before and after treatment with insulin or pioglitazone and its relationship to gene expression of five genes found in liver and intestine which are involved in cholesterol homeostasis. Thirty zucker diabetic fatty fa/fa and 10 lean rats were examined. mRNA for 3-hydroxy3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase (HMGCoA), microsomal triglyceride transfer protein (MTTP), Niemann Pick C1-like 1 (NPC1L1) and ATP binding cassette transporters (ABC) G5 and G8 was determined using real-time, reverse transcriptase (RT-PCR). Cholesterol, triglyceride, apo B48 and apo B100 were elevated in chylomicrons and very low density lipoproteins (VLDL) of untreated diabetic animals ( p p p p p