ONTOGENY OF GLUTAMIC-ACID DECARBOXYLASE GENE-EXPRESSION IN THE MOUSE PANCREAS

Using two RT-PCR quantitative assays, we measured the pancreatic expre ssion of the two isoforms of glutamic acid decarboxylase in the foetus , newborn and 14-, 21- and 35-day-old male and female NOD and C57BL/6 mice. In the C57BL/6 mouse, GAD 67 pancreatic expression is stable; in NOD mice, GAD 67 expression is similar to that found in control mice, except at 5 weeks of age, when pancreatic GAD 67 expression is about 2.5 times higher than in C57BL/6 mice. The pancreatic expression of GA D 65 is under the detection limit of the assay until 5 weeks of age. T he overexpression of GAD 67 characterized in pancreas from Fi-week-old NOD mice could be the result of beta cell hyperactivity, previously r eported in this mouse strain. (C) 1997 Academic Press.