Investigating Pancreatic Response of Pups Exposed to 2-Aminoanthracene in Utero

Environmental exposures to toxic chemicals increase the risk of developing diseases such as type 2 diabetes. 2-Aminoanthracene (2AA) is an aromatic amine commonly found in the environment including road tars, dyes, and cigarette smoke. Previous studies have found a link between 2AA and insulin-dependent gene expression changes. The goal of the present investigation is to examine the expression of pancreatic genes associated with metabolic syndrome in response to 2AA in utero. Timed Sprague Dawley pregnant rats were fed 0 mg/kg (control), 50 mg/kg (low dose), and 100 mg/kg (high dose) concentrations of 2AA diet. After sacrifice, a histological examination of the pancreas was performed to determine the microscopic anatomy of pancreatic cells followed by specific insulin staining and β-cell mass analysis. Quantification of insulin-dependent transcripts via qRT-PCR show that FTO, GCK, IGF2BP2, PPARG1 genes were not expressed. Diabetic related genes such as GLUT2 and INS1 were up-regulated in pancreas of pups whose mothers consumed various amounts of 2AA. Insulin IHC staining indicated that pancreatic islet of the low dose progeny had the highest total percentage of pancreatic tissue, followed by the control offspring and then the high dose exposed rats. This experiment is ongoing to examine how these parameters change with moderately high fat diet three months postwean. Quantification of the expression of genes associated with the regulation of insulin and obesity might suggest a link between diabetes and exposure to environmental chemicals such as an aromatic amine