DECREASED NEUROTROPHIN-3 EXPRESSION IN SKELETAL-MUSCLES OF STREPTOZOTOCIN-INDUCED DIABETIC RATS

The expression of neurotrophin-3 (NT-3) in skeletal muscles was measur ed in rats with streptozotocin (STZ)- induced diabetes using Northern blot analysis. At 6 weeks after STZ induction of diabetes, the NT-3 mR NA level in the quadriceps and gastrocnemius muscles was decreased by 45 and 77%, respectively, compared with that in age-matched controls. Since NT-3 is considered to be essential for the maintenance of spinal proprioceptive afferent neurons, decreased NT-3 expression in target tissues would impair the integrity of afferent neurons and might be an earlier marker in the sensory neuronal damage observed in diabetes me llitus.