Authors:

Gabrielle Bailey

Date Created:

Not specified

Course Title:

Professor:

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About Paper:

This summer, the Hockerman lab and I sought to study IRBIT (IP3 Receptor Binding Protein activated by Inositol 1,4,5 Triphosphate) and its effect on insulin transcription and regulation. This past year the lab has been transitioning from a cell model to a mouse model to observe the effects of IRBIT in vivo and learn more about its mechanisms in the body. From the cell model, we know IRBIT is vital in insulin transcription and regulation. We performed a series of glucose tolerance tests on three groups of mice: one with both copies of the IRBIT-encoding gene intact, one with only one copy intact, and one group with IRBIT completely knocked out of the beta cells of the pancreas. Throughout these tests, we have found that knocking out half of IRBIT content seemed to affect glucose levels most prominently. This seems to imply that there is some mechanism of compensation for insulin production in the body when IRBIT is completely knocked out. This makes the IRBIT heterozygous mice unable to produce insulin in response to high glucose levels, and the IRBIT knockout mice able to stabilize blood sugar levels at a normal rate. We also found that in comparison with the males, female glucose levels were consistent throughout the different groups of mice. Additionally, adding an anti- muscarinic drug, atropine, altered male glucose levels substantially, yet female groups were much less affected. Our postulation is that because estrogen is heavily involved in insulin regulation, IRBIT is not as important in female mice's ability to produce insulin.

Source:

Purdue University / 2023

Topics:

No topics listed

Co-authors:

Gabrielle Bailey