Date of Award

Fall 2005

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Biological Sciences

Program/Concentration

Biology

Committee Director

Christopher J. Osgood

Committee Member

Michael Stacey

Committee Member

Keith Carson

Call Number for Print

Special Collections LD4331.B46 S6267 2005

Abstract

Diabetes mellitus is a group of conditions characterized by hyperglycemia due to an inability to produce or properly utilize insulin. The majority of cases fall into two categories, Type I and Type 2. Type I results from the autoimmune destruction of pancreatic β-cells of the islets. The beta cells are the exclusive source of insulin and the patient becomes entirely dependent on exogenous insulin to survive. Patients with Type 2 are distinguished by insulin resistance, a condition that develops due to the inability of the body to effectively use the insulin being produced. The β-cells gradually lose their ability to produce sufficient amounts of insulin due to the increased demand. A viable approach to alleviating this reliance is with regeneration of the β-cell mass. The islet neogenesis associated protein (INGAP) gene is a member of the Reg family of genes and has been shown to induce islet regeneration and reverse diabetes in STZ-rendered diabetic hamsters. Regulation of INGAP expression may represent a method of ameliorating diabetes through the growth of endogenous islet cells. The chromosomal localization of INGAP will provide information for a complete analysis of the spatial relationships involved in this gene family and how this relates to the regulation of expression. Using a tyramide amplification system along with fluorescence in situ hybridization, the INGAP gene was localized to chromosome eleven in the Syrian hamster.

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DOI

10.25777/7nar-1198

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