Clavulanic acid potassium salt supplier Solution was added to each well and incubated for 15 minutes at room temperature. The reaction was then terminated with 100 ml of stop solution, and the optical absorbance of each well was read at 450 nm (Bio-Rad iMark Microplate Reader, Bio-Rad, Hercules, CA, USA).Pre-Diabetes and Sympathetic Vascular ControlTable 1. Physical and physiological characteristics of CTRL and PD rats.CTRL Weight (g) Blood glucose (mmol/L) Insulin (nmol/L) Blood lactate (mmol/L) Expired CO2 (mmHg) Expired O2 ( ) Respiratory rate (breaths/min) Blood pH 19664 9.360.6 0.160.03 160.1 3560.5 1760.1 6862 7.460.PD 25365* 14.160.9* 5.660.7* 260.1* 
3960.5* 1760.1 8262* 7.460.Values are mean 6 SE. CTRL, control, n = 7?; PD, pre-diabetic, n = 7?. *p,0.001 vs. CTRL. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0046659.tNPY immunoassay and Western blottingAnalyses were carried out on two different skeletal muscle groups known to contain differing expression of slow-twitch oxidative (SO), fast-twitch glycolytic (FG), and fast-twitch oxidative-glycolytic (FOG) fiber types. The use of skeletal muscle groups expressing differing ratios of fiber types was based on early work by others showing that blood flow to such muscles is distributed differently at rest [28] and during exercise [28,29]. We chose to analyze vastus muscle, as it comprises the bulk of muscle tissue in the hindlimb and plays a major role in locomotion. With the animal under deep surgical anesthesia, skeletal muscle samples were taken from red vastus (RV; expressing FOG.FG.SO fibers) and white vastus (WV; expressing FG.FOG) [30,31] and were flash-frozen in liquid nitrogen. Animals were euthanized after tissue harvesting by an overdose of anesthetic. The same muscle 
tissue samples were used in all assays (NPY immunoassay and Western blot). NPY concentration was determined in whole muscle tissue homogenates (from white and red vastus; see below for preparation of homogenate and total protein determination) and standards (50 ml duplicate samples) using a competitive immunoassay (Bachem Bioscience, King of Prussia, PA, USA). All samples were incubated at room temperature for 2 hours. The immunoplate was then washed 5 times with 300 ml per well of assay buffer. Wells were incubated at room temperature with 100 ml of streptavidinHRP for 1 hour. The immunoplate was washed again 5 times with 300 ml per well of assay buffer. Following washing, 100 ml of a TMB peroxidase substrate solution was added to all wells. After a40 minute incubation at room temperature the reaction was terminated by the addition of 100 ml 2 N HCl. Finally, the optical absorbance of each well was read at 450 nm (Bio-Rad Ultramark Microplate Imaging System, Bio-Rad, Hercules, CA, USA). Absorbance measures were converted to NPY concentration by comparison with the 10-point standard curve. Results are given as a ratio of pg NPY (per mg tissue), relative to protein concentration, as computed from amount of total protein loaded per well. The assay has a minimum detectable concentration of 0.04?.06 ng per ml or 2? pg per well (manufacturer’s data). White and red vastus skeletal muscle tissue was removed from the hindlimb and flash frozen in liquid nitrogen. Approximately 100 mg of tissue was cut from the whole muscle and homogenized in 2 mL of radioimmunoprecipitation assay lysis buffer (50 mM Tris-HCl pH 7.4, 150 mM NaCl, 1 IGEPAL, 1 Sodium deoxycholate, 0.1 SDS, 100 mM EDTA) containing protease inhibitor buy 34540-22-2 cocktail (104 mM AEBSF, 80 mM aprotinin, 2.1 mM leupeptin, 3.Solution was added to each well and incubated for 15 minutes at room temperature. The reaction was then terminated with 100 ml of stop solution, and the optical absorbance of each well was read at 450 nm (Bio-Rad iMark Microplate Reader, Bio-Rad, Hercules, CA, USA).Pre-Diabetes and Sympathetic Vascular ControlTable 1. Physical and physiological characteristics of CTRL and PD rats.CTRL Weight (g) Blood glucose (mmol/L) Insulin (nmol/L) Blood lactate (mmol/L) Expired CO2 (mmHg) Expired O2 ( ) Respiratory rate (breaths/min) Blood pH 19664 9.360.6 0.160.03 160.1 3560.5 1760.1 6862 7.460.PD 25365* 14.160.9* 5.660.7* 260.1* 3960.5* 1760.1 8262* 7.460.Values are mean 6 SE. CTRL, control, n = 7?; PD, pre-diabetic, n = 7?. *p,0.001 vs. CTRL. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0046659.tNPY immunoassay and Western blottingAnalyses were carried out on two different skeletal muscle groups known to contain differing expression of slow-twitch oxidative (SO), fast-twitch glycolytic (FG), and fast-twitch oxidative-glycolytic (FOG) fiber types. The use of skeletal muscle groups expressing differing ratios of fiber types was based on early work by others showing that blood flow to such muscles is distributed differently at rest [28] and during exercise [28,29]. We chose to analyze vastus muscle, as it comprises the bulk of muscle tissue in the hindlimb and plays a major role in locomotion. With the animal under deep surgical anesthesia, skeletal muscle samples were taken from red vastus (RV; expressing FOG.FG.SO fibers) and white vastus (WV; expressing FG.FOG) [30,31] and were flash-frozen in liquid nitrogen. Animals were euthanized after tissue harvesting by an overdose of anesthetic. The same muscle tissue samples were used in all assays (NPY immunoassay and Western blot). NPY concentration was determined in whole muscle tissue homogenates (from white and red vastus; see below for preparation of homogenate and total protein determination) and standards (50 ml duplicate samples) using a competitive immunoassay (Bachem Bioscience, King of Prussia, PA, USA). All samples were incubated at room temperature for 2 hours. The immunoplate was then washed 5 times with 300 ml per well of assay buffer. Wells were incubated at room temperature with 100 ml of streptavidinHRP for 1 hour. The immunoplate was washed again 5 times with 300 ml per well of assay buffer. Following washing, 100 ml of a TMB peroxidase substrate solution was added to all wells. After a40 minute incubation at room temperature the reaction was terminated by the addition of 100 ml 2 N HCl. Finally, the optical absorbance of each well was read at 450 nm (Bio-Rad Ultramark Microplate Imaging System, Bio-Rad, Hercules, CA, USA). Absorbance measures were converted to NPY concentration by comparison with the 10-point standard curve. Results are given as a ratio of pg NPY (per mg tissue), relative to protein concentration, as computed from amount of total protein loaded per well. The assay has a minimum detectable concentration of 0.04?.06 ng per ml or 2? pg per well (manufacturer’s data). White and red vastus skeletal muscle tissue was removed from the hindlimb and flash frozen in liquid nitrogen. Approximately 100 mg of tissue was cut from the whole muscle and homogenized in 2 mL of radioimmunoprecipitation assay lysis buffer (50 mM Tris-HCl pH 7.4, 150 mM NaCl, 1 IGEPAL, 1 Sodium deoxycholate, 0.1 SDS, 100 mM EDTA) containing protease inhibitor cocktail (104 mM AEBSF, 80 mM aprotinin, 2.1 mM leupeptin, 3.