I want to evaluate insulin resistence status in rodents，especially in the central nervous system，is there any measures I can adopt？
Hi Wu,
You might find this material useful. It is a pdf document available on-line
http://www.mc.vanderbilt.edu/diabetes/msshortcourse/presentations/07.18.12_Shiota.pdf
The hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamp, or insulin clamp, is the gold standard for assessing insulin action in vivo. You can see how it's done here:
http://www.jove.com/video/3188/hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic-clamps-in-conscious-unrestrained-mice
As this is quite complicated, another method would be to do an Insulin Tolerance Test (ITT) by injecting a bolus of insulin and recording blood glucose levels at different time points. Some authors who do not want or cannot do an ITT or insulin clamp use the HOMA-IR (Homeostatic model assessment Insulin Resistance), as it requires only a simple dosage of plasma glucose and insulin. But this test was developed for humans and there is controversy as whether it should be used in mice.
In the CNS, it is not as straightforward, and would require analyzing the phosphorylation state of several proteins involved in the insulin signaling cascade. Plasma to CSF insulin ratio can also be an indicator. See below:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19705099
- Badges
- Science topic