NTU Undergraduates' research April 2014 - Biosciences | Seite 122

THE EFFECTS OF STATINS ON INSULIN SECRETIONS
FROM PANCREATIC BETA CELLS
ABSTRACT

FAE CLARKE

Diabetes is a metabolic disease that is characterised by a high blood glucose concentration which
then goes on to impair the secretion of insulin. Glucose has a direct effect on cholesterol
biosynthesis. Patients that are at risk or have been found to have high cholesterol are treated with
statins to help lower or prevent cholesterol build up. Here, we investigated is to see if the statin,
pravastatin, has an effect on the insulin secretion of beta-pancreatic cells. The cells used were
derived from a rat cell line. This in turn links to if the drug having an effect on type 2 diabetes, either
as beneficial or a causing factor. In week 1 of studies it appeared that pravastatin increased the
insulin secretion when non-stimulated in comparison to the control, however it decreased the
secretion in the presence of secretagogue, when stimulated. This differs to week 2 and 3 as these
studies show that pravastatin had similar secretion when non-stimulated in comparison to the
controls, yet caused a larger secretion of insulin when stimulated with the presence of secretagogue.
Thus pravastatin was seen to cause an increase in insulin secretion in pancreatic beta-cells of a rat
descent. This therefore could be transferred to determine that the drug contributes to patients
raised insulin levels during hyperglycemia suffering from insulin resistance. This suggests that
pravastatin does indeed increase the risk type 2 diabetes occurring.
Keywords - Type 2 Diabetes mellitus; Insulin; Statins; Pravastatin; HMG-CoA reductase; Insulin ELISA;
Cell Culture; Pancreatic Beta-Cells, INS-1 Cells

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