Research Paper Volume 12, Issue 3 pp 2275—2301

Figure 1. Effects of aging in the regulation of hepatic PASK expression, and parameters affected by aging: glucose tolerance, action of insulin and lipid-related parameters. Real-time PCR was used to analyze the expression of Pask (A) mRNA levels in livers from 3-5 months (young), 12-months, and 18-20 months (aged) wild-type (WT) mice. The value obtained for 3-5-month-old WT mice was taken as 1. ^&&& P < 0.001 3-5 months vs. 12 months; ^$$$ P < 0.001 3-5 months vs. 18-20 months. (B) Comparison of growth curves of Δ WT and ● PASK-deficient mice, weight is means ± SEM. *** P < 0.001 WT vs. Pask^-/- (C–F) Glucose and insulin tolerance tests (GTT/ITT); serum glucose levels (mg/dL) were measured before and several times after an IP glucose (C, D) or insulin (E, F) injection in mice of Δ 3-5 months or ▲18-20 months WT and ○ 3-5 months or ● 18-20 months PASK-deficient mice (Pask^-/-). Line graphs represent the means ± SEM; n = 8-11 animals per condition. ^$ P < 0.05, ^$$ P < 0.01, ^$$$ P < 0.001 3-5 months vs. 18-20 months; * P < 0.05, ** P < 0.01, *** P < 0.001 aged WT vs. aged Pask^-/-. Area under the curve for glucose (AUC_glucose) (D) and insulin (AUC_insulin) (F). HOMA-IR values (G). (D, F, G) values are expressed as the means ± SEM in WT mice aged 3-5 months or 18-20 months and PASK-deficient mice (Pask^-/-) aged 3-5 months or 18-20 months. ^$ P < 0.05, ^$$$ P < 0.001 3-5 months vs. 18-20 months; * P < 0.05, ** P < 0.01, *** P < 0.001 WT vs. Pask^-/-.