Effect of glucose and insulin on visfatin expression in 3T3-L1 adipocytes

Objective To investigate the effects of different concentrations of glucose and insulin on expressions of visfatin mRNA and protein in 3T3-L1 adipocytes and to explore the role of visfatin on diabetes mellitus.Methods 3T3-L1 preadipocytes were cultured in vitro and differentiated.Mature adipocytes were incubated with different concentrations of glucose and insulin for 48 hours.Then total cellular RNA and protein were extracted,and expressions of visfatin mRNA and protein were determined by semi-quantitative RT-PCR and western blot with βactin as an internal control.Results Compared with the control group,expressions of visfatin mRNA and protein in mature adipocytes were decreased by high glucose(P0.05),but were not significantly changed by different concentrations of insulin(P0.05).Conclusion In in vitro studies,a high level of glucose can down-regulate visfatin expression,but concentration of insulin has no effect on visfatin expression.