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Effects of electrical microstimulation of peripheral sympathetic nervous fascicle on glucose uptake in rats

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Abstract

Artificial pancreas systems control insulin-mediated glucose uptake. Although these systems are widely used in the clinical setting, they are still fraught with structural and biological problems. The non-insulin mediated glucose uptake (NIMGU) mechanism could be an alternative candidate as a target system for the artificial control of peripheral glucose uptake. Although the sympathetic nervous system is known to be one of the regulators of NIMGU, the effects of peripheral sympathetic activation on glucose uptake have not been well documented. We electrically stimulated a sympathetic nerve fascicle to clarify the possibility of controlling peripheral glucose uptake. A sympathetic signal was microneurographically obtained in the unilateral sciatic nerve in normal (NRML), insulin-resistant high-fat-fed (HFF), and streptozotocin-induced insulin-depleted (STZ) rats, and electrical stimulation was applied via the microelectrode (microstimulation). The microstimulation was also applied to sites other than the sympathetic fascicles in an additional group of normal rats (NSYMP group). The stimulation applied to the sympathetic fibers resulted in an immediate and transient decrease of blood glucose (BG) in the NRML, HFF, and STZ groups, with little change in the plasma insulin. The change in BG level seemed to depend on the basal BG level (NRML < HFF < STZ). In contrast, no reduction in BG was observed in the NSYMP group. These results suggest that microstimulation in the peripheral sympathetic fascicle could enhance glucose uptake in peripheral tissues—independently of insulin function—and show an alternative possibility for controlling glucose uptake.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Akihito Sawaguchi, Kei Momotani, Minehisa Koshi, Akino Fujiyoshi, and Miyuki Kaga for their assistance in the animal experiments. This study was supported financially in part by Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B) (17300139) and for the Global COE Program from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biomedical Information Engineering, Graduate School of Medical Science, Yamagata University, 2-2-2 Iida-nishi, Yamagata, 990-9585, Japan

    Daisuke Sato, Go Shinzawa, Tomonao Matsui, Hiroyuki Sasaki & Takao Nakamura

  2. Department of Internal Medicine, Medical Clinic, Aichi Medical University, 2-12-1 Higashisakura, Higashi-ku, Nagoya, 461-0005, Japan

    Masataka Kusunoki

  3. Department of Bio-Systems Engineering, Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Yamagata University, 4-3-16 Johnan, Yonezawa, 992-8510, Japan

    Zhonggang Feng

  4. Department of Health and Nutrition, Yonezawa Women’s Junior College, 6-15-1 Tohrimachi, Yonezawa, 992-0025, Japan

    Atsuyoshi Nishina

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  1. Daisuke Sato
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  2. Go Shinzawa
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  3. Masataka Kusunoki
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  4. Tomonao Matsui
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  5. Hiroyuki Sasaki
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  6. Zhonggang Feng
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  7. Atsuyoshi Nishina
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  8. Takao Nakamura
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Correspondence to Daisuke Sato or Takao Nakamura.

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Sato, D., Shinzawa, G., Kusunoki, M. et al. Effects of electrical microstimulation of peripheral sympathetic nervous fascicle on glucose uptake in rats. J Artif Organs 16, 352–358 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10047-013-0700-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10047-013-0700-x

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