The features of liver glycogen fractions in streptozotocin-induced type-I diabetic rats

The ratio of counter-regulatory hormones to insulin is increased in diabetes. This causes a change in the activities of the enzymes involved in glycogen metabolism. Thus, it is expected that the structure of glycogen will be changed reversibly in diabetes mellitus. The current research was done to study whether the fractions of glycogen have been changed in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetes in rats. To this end, one group of 10 male rats received a single injection with STZ and were compared with the control group. Liver glycogen fractions were analyzed for the content of carbohydrates, protein, and organic phosphate. Hyperglycemia and clinical signs of diabetes appeared after two days of STZ- injection and continued up to two weeks. In diabetic rats relative to controls, total glycogen decreased by about 39% (24.4 ± 3.0 mg/g wet weight of liver vs. 39.7 ± 2.2, p = 0.001), and the change happened entirely in acid-soluble glycogen (ASG) fraction (19.1 ± 1.7 vs. 33.4 ± 2.2, p = 0.001), while acid-insoluble glycogen (AIG) increased slightly but not significantly (5.5 ± 1.1, vs. 4.5 ± 0.8, p = 0.5). Diabetes was also associated with the change in the content of glycogen protein and the ratio of ASG to AIG. The content of organic phosphate was 181.4 ± 26.3 and 39.2 ± 7.9 µg/g wet weight of liver for ASG and AIG fractions in control rats and had no significant change in diabetes. In conclusion, diabetes is accompanied by the reduction in liver glycogen carbohydrate and protein of total and soluble fraction but the content of organic phosphate has not been affected.