Tissue‐specific reduction of galanin content in the pancreas in alloxan diabetes in the mouse

Galanin inhibits insulin secretion and has been proposed to function as a sympathetic neurotransmitter in the endocrine pancreas in some species, for example in the dog. In this study, pancreatic and adrenal gland galanin content were measured following experimental diabetes induced by alloxan in mice. Three days after administration of alloxan (70 mg kg-1, i.p.) in normal mice, pancreatic content of galanin-like immunoreactivity (GLIR) was reduced to 65 +/- 11% of that in untreated controls (P < 0.01), whereas adrenal gland GLIR was unchanged. Similarly, 8 days after alloxan administration, pancreatic GLIR was reduced (P < 0.002), whereas adrenal gland GLIR was unaffected. Pancreatic GLIR also inversely correlated with plasma glucose levels (r = -0.5055, P < 0.005). To distinguish between the direct effects of alloxan vs. indirect metabolic effects induced by the drug, alloxan-diabetic mice were treated with insulin twice daily, which normalized the plasma glucose levels (7.6 +/- 0.3 mmol l-1). Pancreatic GLIR was then not significantly different from controls. Thus pancreatic but not adrenal gland GLIR content is reduced in alloxan-induced diabetes in mice. The data support a role for galanin as a pancreatic sympathetic neurotransmitter which may participate in the metabolic alterations seen in alloxan diabetes in mice.