The Beneficial Effects of Zinc on Diabetes-induced kidney damage In Murine Rodent Model of Type 1 diabetes mellitus

Publication date: Available online 12 March 2017 Source:Journal of Trace Elements in Medicine and Biology Author(s): Fan Yang, Bing Li, Xiaoming Dong, Ping Luo Diabetes mellitus is a chronic multi-factorial metabolic disorder resulting from impaired glucose homeostasis. Zinc is a key co-factor for the correct functioning of anti-oxidant enzymes. Zinc deficiency therefore, impairs their synthesis, leading to increased oxidative stress within cells. Zinc deficiency occurs commonly in diabetic patients. The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of varying concentrations of zinc on diabetic nephropathy (DN) and the underlying mechanisms involved. FVB male mice aged 8 weeks were injected intraperitoneally with multiple low-dose streptozotocin at a concentration of 50mg/kg body weight daily for 5 days. Diabetic and age-matched control mice were treated with special diets supplemented with zinc at varying concentrations (0.85mg/kg, 30mg/kg, 150mg/kg) for 3 months. The mice were fed with zinc diets to mimic the process of oral administration of zinc in human. Zinc deficiency to some extent aggravated the damage of diabetic kidney. Feeding with normal (30mg/kg Zinc/kg diet) and especially high (150mg/kg Zinc/kg diet) concentration zinc could protect the kidney against diabetes-induced damage. The benefical effects of zinc on DN are achieved most likely due to the upregulation of Nrf2 and its downstream factors NQO1, SOD1, SOD2. Zinc upregulated the expression of Akt ph...
Source: Journal of Trace Elements in Medicine and Biology - Category: Biochemistry Source Type: research