15, 17,

18, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31 and 32 Another hormone is oestrogen, which also plays a role in cell function, glucose metabolism, and insulin secretion. In addition, oestrogen has been associated with an increased risk of diabetes. Diabetes alters these hormones, compromising their function and intensifying the damage caused by the hyperglycaemic condition.33, 34, 35 and 36 Hormone replacement therapy then may reverse this damage, but due to the presence of various complications doubts still exist regarding the total efficacy of this procedure in different cases, including hyperglycaemic conditions.37, AG 14699 38, 39 and 40 Therefore, the objective of the present study was to evaluate the effect of oestrogen replacement therapy and prolonged insulin treatment on

the expression of INS-R and ER-alpha in the salivary glands of spontaneously diabetic mice, associating the therapeutic action of these treatments with the recovery of glandular tissues. Twenty-five 15-week-old female mice weighing on average 20 g, obtained from the Animal House of Universidade Estadual de Campinas (CEMIB, certified by ICLAS), were divided into five groups of 5 animals each: group I (NOD diabetic), group II (NOD diabetic treated with insulin), group III (NOD diabetic treated with oestrogen), group IV (NOD diabetic treated with insulin and oestrogen), and group V (control BALB/c mice). The animals were kept under standard conditions of housing, feeding and treatment at the Sector of Laboratory Animal Experimentation, Epigenetics Compound Library Department of Morphology and Basic Pathology, Faculty of Medicine of Jundiaí, FMJ. Group II received insulin 20 days after confirmation of the hyperglycaemic condition (highly purified mixed NPH insulin, Biobrás, Minas Gerais, Brazil). Insulin was administered subcutaneously at a daily dose of 0.20 ml/100 g (4–5 U) for a period of 20 days similar as described

by Anderson.24 Group III received physiological doses of oestrogen in the form of daily subcutaneous injections of 72 mg cAMP 17β-oestradiol/kg41 (Sigma Chemical, St. Louis, MO, USA), also for a period of 20 days. Group IV received oestrogen plus insulin using the same protocol. Mice of groups I and V received daily subcutaneous injections of saline (4–5 U) to simulate the experimental conditions of the treated groups.42 Blood glucose levels (mg/dl) were monitored weekly in all animals with the Accu-Chek Performa System (Roche, Nutley, NJ, USA). Diabetes was defined as glucose levels higher than 300 mg/dl.43 Oestrogen levels were measured at the beginning and at the end of treatment for confirmation of the physiological hormone dose.44 For this purpose, a part of the blood sample was centrifuged for the separation of serum. Oestradiol levels were assayed using the oestradiol kit (Diagnostic Products, Los Angeles, CA, USA) in a Labsystems Multiskan Ascent plate reader (Model 354, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Suwanee, Georgia, USA).