Expression and activity of pyruvate kinase in bladder interstitial cells of cajal in rats with diabetic cystopathy

Abstract

Objective To investigate the expression and activity of pyruvate kinase in interstitial cells of Cajal (ICCs) in the bladder of rats with diabetic cystopathy (DCP). Methods Forty 8-week-old female rats were divided into two groups randomly, 31 as the experiment group and the rest 9 as the control group. The experiment group was intraperitoneally injected with streptozotocin (STZ) to establish diabetic models and 18 rats were succeeded to be induced. Nine diabetic rats were further raised for 12 weeks getting DCP rats. ICCs from bladder muscle were cultured. The expression of pyruvate kinase protein and mRNA was detected by Western blotting and real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (Real-time PCR) respectively, and pyruvate kinase activity was measured. Results The expression levels of pyruvate kinase protein and mRNA and activity in DCP rats were reduced significantly as compared with those of the diabetic rats and control rats [(0.537±0.015), (0.624±0.026), (0.098±0.010) U/g·prot respectively, vs. (0.722±0.026), (0.739±0.045), (0.178±0.017) U/g·prot, vs. (0.923±0.031), (1.000±0.022), (0.277±0.030) U/g·prot; P<0.01]. Conclusion The reduction of pyruvate kinase activity in ICCs may play an important role in the development of DCP. Key words: Diabetic cystopathy; Pyruvate kinase; Interstitial cells of cajal