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Fulltext Stakeholders' attitude to genetically modified foods and medicine

Amin L, Jahi JM, Nor AR

ScientificWorldJournal, 2013;2013:516742.
PMID: 24381520 DOI: 10.1155/2013/516742

Public acceptance of genetically modified (GM) foods has to be adequately addressed in order for their potential economic and social benefits to be realized. The objective of this paper is to assess the attitude of the Malaysian public toward GM foods (GM soybean and GM palm oil) and GM medicine (GM insulin). A survey was carried out using self-constructed multidimensional instrument measuring attitudes towards GM products. The respondents (n = 1017) were stratified according to stakeholders' groups in the Klang Valley region. Results of the survey show that the overall attitude of the Malaysian stakeholders towards GM products was cautious. Although they acknowledged the presence of moderate perceived benefits associated with GM products surveyed and were moderately encouraging of them, they were also moderately concerned about the risks and moral aspects of the three GM products as well as moderately accepting the risks. Attitudes towards GM products among the stakeholders were found to vary not according to the type of all GM applications but rather depend on the intricate relationships between the attitudinal factors and the type of gene transfers involved. Analyses of variance showed significant differences in the six dimensions of attitude towards GM products across stakeholders' groups.

Matched MeSH terms: Insulin/biosynthesis
Fulltext The effects of Cicletanine, a new antihypertensive agent on insulin release in rat isolated pancreas by the perfusion technique

Mashori GR, Tariq AR, Shahimi MM, Suhaimi H

Singapore Med J, 1996 Jun;37(3):278-81.
PMID: 8942229

Treatment of hypertension has reduced the incidence of stroke, heart failure and renal failure. However, the incidence of coronary heart disease is not reduced to the same degree. Many of the drugs advocated as first-line drugs in the step-wise therapy have been shown to cause carbohydrate intolerance and it is an independent risk factor in the development of coronary heart disease. It is thus important to identify the antihypertensive drugs that may cause deterioration in glucose tolerance. Cicletanine, the first derivative of the furopyridines, is a new class of antihypertensive agents. It acts directly on vascular endothelium cells by increasing prostacyclin synthesis. It also decreases intracytosolic calcium levels in smooth muscles. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effects of Cicletanine on insulin release in rat isolated pancreas by the perfusion technique adapted from Loubatieres and co-workers (1972). Doses used were based on therapeutic peak plasma concentration. Diazoxide was used as a positive control ie a known insulin suppressant. Cicletanine at 1/10 and equivalent therapeutic concentrations (0.5 microgram/mL and 5.0 micrograms/mL) did not suppress insulin release. However, at concentration exceeding 10X its therapeutic levels (50 micrograms/mL) it begins to suppress insulin release. In conclusion, Cicletanine did not inhibit insulin release at concentrations within the therapeutic range.

Matched MeSH terms: Insulin/biosynthesis*
Scalable production of pancreatic islet progenitors for diabetes cell therapies

Lock LT, Tzanakakis ES

Med J Malaysia, 2008 Jul;63 Suppl A:5-6.
PMID: 19024957

Embryonic stem cells (ESCs) can be an inexhaustible source of islet cells for transplantation. Previously published protocols have been characterized by low differentiation efficiency. In this study, we developed a scalable system for the growth and differentiation of hESCs towards pancreatic islets. Our results showed that hESCs can be grown on microcarriers to a larger scale and directed to differentiate into pancreatic progenitor endoderm cells. This culture system would represent an economical differentiation protocol that can be scaled-up to meet the demand in islet transplantation.

Matched MeSH terms: Insulin/biosynthesis
Improvement of isolated caprine islet survival and functionality in vitro by enhancing of PDX1 gene expression

Hani H, Allaudin ZN, Mohd-Lila MA, Sarsaifi K, Rasouli M, Tam YJ, et al.

Xenotransplantation, 2017 05;24(3).
PMID: 28397308 DOI: 10.1111/xen.12302

BACKGROUND: Dead islets replaced with viable islets are a promising offer to restore normal insulin production to a person with diabetes. The main reason for establishing a new islet source for transplantation is the insufficiency of human donor pancreas while using xenogeneic islets perhaps assists this problem. The expression of PDX1 is essential for the pancreas expansion. In mature β-cells, PDX1 has several critical roles such as glucose sensing, insulin synthesis, and insulin secretion. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the expression of pancreatic duodenal homeobox-1 (PDX1) in treated caprine islets in culture and to assess the protective effects of antioxidant factors on the PDX1 gene in cultured caprine islets.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: Purified islets were treated with serum-free, serum, IBMX, tocopherol, or IBMX and tocopherol media. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction and Western blotting were carried out to compare the expression levels of PDX1 in treated purified islets cultured with different media.
RESULTS: Islets treated with IBMX/tocopherol exhibited the highest fold change in the relative expression of PDX1 on day 5 post-treatment (relative expression: 6.80±2.08), whereas serum-treated islets showed the lowest fold changes in PDX1 expression on day 5 post-treatment (0.67±0.36), as compared with the expression on day 1 post-treatment. Insulin production and viability tests of purified islets showed superiority of islet at supplemented serum-free media with IBMX/tocopherol compared to other cultures (53.875%±1.59%).
CONCLUSIONS: Our results indicated that supplemented serum-free medium with tocopherol and IBMX enhances viability and PDX1 gene expression compared to serum-added and serum-free media.

Matched MeSH terms: Insulin/biosynthesis