The Von Hippel–Lindau Protein (pVHL) Is Downregulated in the Pancreatic Islets of Mice with Type 2 Diabetes Induced by a High-Calorie Diet

Background/Objectives: Knock-out mice lacking von Hippel–Lindau protein (pVHL) in pancreatic beta cells exhibit glucose intolerance and low insulin production, indicating a possible association between pVHL and diabetes mellitus (DM). It is currently unknown whether DM causes a decrease in pVHL expression. In this study, we determined the level of pVHL expression in the pancreas of mice with type 2 DM (T2DM) induced by a high-calorie diet (HCD). Methods: Mice of the C57BL/6 and BALB/c strains were fed with a HCD for 10 weeks, and another group of mice of both strains were fed a standard diet (SD). The mice were monitored for body weight and glucose levels until the end of the treatment. Immunodetection for pVHL, HIF-1α, Insulin and GLUT-1 was performed. Results: A significant increase in body weight in C57BL/6 mice fed HCD at week 10 compared to mice fed a SD (p < 0.05), with similar results for the BALB/c strain. The glucose level was significantly higher in the C57BL/6 strain and the BALB/c strain fed with HCD compared to mice on a SD (p < 0.05). There was lower pVHL and insulin expression in the pancreatic islets of both strains fed HCD. In contrast, there was higher pVHL expression in the pancreatic islets of both strains of mice fed a SD. HIF-1α and GLUT-1 expression was higher in mice fed HCD than in mice fed a SD. Conclusions: HCD-induced T2DM causes low pVHL expression in the pancreatic islets of C57BL/6 and BALB/c mice, suggesting that low pVHL expression is related to the development of T2DM in mice.