Concentration of sialic acid in alloxan diabetic rat islets of Langerhans.

A microanalytical procedure for the determination of total and surface sialic acid concentrations was employed to establish their changes in relation to the length of alloxan diabetes in rat islets of Langerhans. 14 and 60 days after alloxan administration (65 mg/kg), the number of Langerhans islets was significantly decreased (p < 0.001) compared to the control. According to their size, the distribution of islets displayed no significant difference in diabetic and control animals 14 days after alloxan administration, while after 60 days no large islets (dia > or = 128 microns) were found in diabetic animals. The surface sialic acid was significantly increased in the small islets (p < 0.001), whereas no change was found in the large islets 14 days after alloxan administration. After 60 days, the surface sialic acid of both small and large islets was significantly decreased (p < 0.001). These results demonstrate that chronic beta-cell destruction induces a decrease in the sialic acid content in the pancreatic islet cells, suggesting that sialic acid might play a role in insulin secretory regulation regarding chronic effects of alloxan beta-cytotoxicity.