Biochemical Toxicological Study of Insulin Overdose in Rats: A Forensic Perspective
Due to nonspecific pathological changes and the rapid degradation of insulin in postmortem blood samples, the identification of the cause of death during insulin overdose has always been a difficulty in forensic medicine. At present, there is a lack of studies on the toxicological changes and relate...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2023-12-01
|
| Series: | Toxics |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2305-6304/12/1/17 |
| _version_ | 1797342505609461760 |
|---|---|
| author | Cunhao Bian Xin He Qi Wang Zhe Zheng Yongtai Zhang Hongli Xiong Yongguo Li Mingzhu Zhao Jianbo Li |
| author_facet | Cunhao Bian Xin He Qi Wang Zhe Zheng Yongtai Zhang Hongli Xiong Yongguo Li Mingzhu Zhao Jianbo Li |
| author_sort | Cunhao Bian |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Due to nonspecific pathological changes and the rapid degradation of insulin in postmortem blood samples, the identification of the cause of death during insulin overdose has always been a difficulty in forensic medicine. At present, there is a lack of studies on the toxicological changes and related mechanisms of an insulin overdose, and the specific molecular markers of insulin overdose are still unclear. In this study, an animal model of insulin overdose was established, and 24 SD rats were randomly divided into a control group, insulin overdose group, and a recovery group (<i>n</i> = 8). We detected the biochemical changes and analyzed the toxicological mechanism of an insulin overdose. The results showed that after insulin overdose, the rats developed irregular convulsions, Eclampsia, Opisthotonos, and other symptoms. The levels of glucose, glycogen, and C-peptide in the body decreased significantly, while the levels of lactate, insulin, and glucagon increased significantly. The decrease in plasma K<sup>+</sup> was accompanied by the increase in skeletal muscle K<sup>+</sup>. The PI3K-AKT signaling pathway was significantly activated in skeletal muscle, and the translocation of GLUT4/Na<sup>+</sup>-K<sup>+</sup>-ATPase to sarcolemma was significantly increased. Rare glycogenic hepatopathy occurred in the recovery group after insulin overdose. Our study showed that insulin overdose also plays a role in skeletal muscle cells, mainly through the PI3K-Akt signaling pathway. Therefore, the detection of signaling pathway proteins of the skeletal muscle cell membrane GLUT4 and Na<sup>+</sup>-K<sup>+</sup>-ATPase has a certain auxiliary diagnostic value for forensic insulin overdose identification. Glycogen detection in the liver and skeletal muscle is important for the diagnosis of insulin overdose, but it still needs to be differentiated from other causes of death. Skeletal muscle has great potential for insulin detection, and the ratio of insulin to the C-peptide (I:C) can determine whether an exogenous insulin overdose is present. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T10:34:30Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-849f5c3769c645d1a41f59985007bc76 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2305-6304 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T10:34:30Z |
| publishDate | 2023-12-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Toxics |
| spelling | doaj.art-849f5c3769c645d1a41f59985007bc762024-01-26T18:40:55ZengMDPI AGToxics2305-63042023-12-011211710.3390/toxics12010017Biochemical Toxicological Study of Insulin Overdose in Rats: A Forensic PerspectiveCunhao Bian0Xin He1Qi Wang2Zhe Zheng3Yongtai Zhang4Hongli Xiong5Yongguo Li6Mingzhu Zhao7Jianbo Li8Department of Forensic Medicine, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing 400016, ChinaDepartment of Forensic Medicine, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing 400016, ChinaDepartment of Forensic Medicine, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing 400016, ChinaDepartment of Forensic Medicine, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing 400016, ChinaDepartment of Forensic Medicine, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing 400016, ChinaDepartment of Forensic Medicine, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing 400016, ChinaDepartment of Forensic Medicine, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing 400016, ChinaDepartment of Forensic Medicine, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing 400016, ChinaDepartment of Forensic Medicine, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing 400016, ChinaDue to nonspecific pathological changes and the rapid degradation of insulin in postmortem blood samples, the identification of the cause of death during insulin overdose has always been a difficulty in forensic medicine. At present, there is a lack of studies on the toxicological changes and related mechanisms of an insulin overdose, and the specific molecular markers of insulin overdose are still unclear. In this study, an animal model of insulin overdose was established, and 24 SD rats were randomly divided into a control group, insulin overdose group, and a recovery group (<i>n</i> = 8). We detected the biochemical changes and analyzed the toxicological mechanism of an insulin overdose. The results showed that after insulin overdose, the rats developed irregular convulsions, Eclampsia, Opisthotonos, and other symptoms. The levels of glucose, glycogen, and C-peptide in the body decreased significantly, while the levels of lactate, insulin, and glucagon increased significantly. The decrease in plasma K<sup>+</sup> was accompanied by the increase in skeletal muscle K<sup>+</sup>. The PI3K-AKT signaling pathway was significantly activated in skeletal muscle, and the translocation of GLUT4/Na<sup>+</sup>-K<sup>+</sup>-ATPase to sarcolemma was significantly increased. Rare glycogenic hepatopathy occurred in the recovery group after insulin overdose. Our study showed that insulin overdose also plays a role in skeletal muscle cells, mainly through the PI3K-Akt signaling pathway. Therefore, the detection of signaling pathway proteins of the skeletal muscle cell membrane GLUT4 and Na<sup>+</sup>-K<sup>+</sup>-ATPase has a certain auxiliary diagnostic value for forensic insulin overdose identification. Glycogen detection in the liver and skeletal muscle is important for the diagnosis of insulin overdose, but it still needs to be differentiated from other causes of death. Skeletal muscle has great potential for insulin detection, and the ratio of insulin to the C-peptide (I:C) can determine whether an exogenous insulin overdose is present.https://www.mdpi.com/2305-6304/12/1/17insulin overdoseforensic medicinehypoglycemiatoxicology |
| spellingShingle | Cunhao Bian Xin He Qi Wang Zhe Zheng Yongtai Zhang Hongli Xiong Yongguo Li Mingzhu Zhao Jianbo Li Biochemical Toxicological Study of Insulin Overdose in Rats: A Forensic Perspective Toxics insulin overdose forensic medicine hypoglycemia toxicology |
| title | Biochemical Toxicological Study of Insulin Overdose in Rats: A Forensic Perspective |
| title_full | Biochemical Toxicological Study of Insulin Overdose in Rats: A Forensic Perspective |
| title_fullStr | Biochemical Toxicological Study of Insulin Overdose in Rats: A Forensic Perspective |
| title_full_unstemmed | Biochemical Toxicological Study of Insulin Overdose in Rats: A Forensic Perspective |
| title_short | Biochemical Toxicological Study of Insulin Overdose in Rats: A Forensic Perspective |
| title_sort | biochemical toxicological study of insulin overdose in rats a forensic perspective |
| topic | insulin overdose forensic medicine hypoglycemia toxicology |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2305-6304/12/1/17 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT cunhaobian biochemicaltoxicologicalstudyofinsulinoverdoseinratsaforensicperspective AT xinhe biochemicaltoxicologicalstudyofinsulinoverdoseinratsaforensicperspective AT qiwang biochemicaltoxicologicalstudyofinsulinoverdoseinratsaforensicperspective AT zhezheng biochemicaltoxicologicalstudyofinsulinoverdoseinratsaforensicperspective AT yongtaizhang biochemicaltoxicologicalstudyofinsulinoverdoseinratsaforensicperspective AT honglixiong biochemicaltoxicologicalstudyofinsulinoverdoseinratsaforensicperspective AT yongguoli biochemicaltoxicologicalstudyofinsulinoverdoseinratsaforensicperspective AT mingzhuzhao biochemicaltoxicologicalstudyofinsulinoverdoseinratsaforensicperspective AT jianboli biochemicaltoxicologicalstudyofinsulinoverdoseinratsaforensicperspective |