Glucocorticoid receptor expression is altered in pancreatic β cells of the non-obese diabetic mouse during postnatal development

Glucocorticoids play a crucial role in the regulation of carbohydrate metabolism and in the immune response, and can influence the development of diabetes in certain animal models including autoimmune type 1 diabetes in the non-obese diabetic (NOD) mouse. In these animals, the onset of destructive autoimmune pancreatic changes (insulitis) occurs at around 3 weeks of age. Moreover, the incidence of diabetes is significantly higher in females compared to males. However, the underlying mechanisms for this sex-specificity are unknown. Therefore, the present study was undertaken to examine the expression of the glucocorticoid receptor (GR) in pancreatic islets of Langerhans of the NOD mouse during the first 3 weeks of postnatal development. Immunohistochemistry was used to determine pancreatic GR expression and to identify insulin-secreting beta cells in postnatal (1-, 2-, and 3-week-old) NOD mice. Age-matched NOD.SCID mice (immunodeficient animals with the same NOD genetic background) were used as control animals. In both strains, regardless of sex or age, GR staining was found predominantly in the cytoplasm of beta cells but was also present in other cell types within the islets. At all ages, the percentage of islet cells containing GR was similar between male and female animals of the same strain. In control mice, the percentage of islet cells containing GR increased progressively from 80% at 1 week of age to 100% at 3 weeks of age. In marked contrast, in the NOD mice, the proportion of islets containing GR decreased from 95% at week 1 to only 60% at 3 weeks of age. We conclude that sex-specific differences in the incidence of diabetes are not associated with altered pancreatic GR expression in NOD mice during early postnatal development. However, the distinct and remarkable decrease in islet GR levels at 3 weeks of age may contribute to the onset of insulitis, and potentially to the ontology of diabetes in NOD mice, as a result of the loss of protective immunosuppressive effects of glucocorticoids.