Study of the possible protective effects of some agents against diabetic nephropathy in rats / Malek Mohammed Mohsen Aziz ; Supervised Azza M. Agha , Ashraf K. Bahgat , May Ahmed Galal

Thesis (M.Sc.) - Cairo University - Faculty of Pharmacy - Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology

Background: Diabetic nephropathy (DN), one of the most serious microvascular complications of diabetes, is a major cause of end stage renal disease. It occurs approximately in one third of type 2 diabetic patients and is on rise. Diabetes causes renal damage due to abnormal glucose regulation, including elevated glucose and glycosylated protein tissue levels, haemodynamic changes within the kidney tissue and increased oxidative stress. Aim: In the present study, we investigated the possible protective effect of L-carnitine and geraniol alone and in combination with pioglitazone in diabetic nephropathy induced by streptozotocin (STZ) in rats.Methods: Male Wistar rats were randomly divided into eight experimental groups (n=8): Group I: control group, Group II: STZ (45 mg/kg, i.p.). The other six groups were treated with Pioglitazone (10 mg/kg, p.o.), L-carnitine (300 mg/kg, p.o.), Geraniol (250 mg/kg, p.o.) and their combination for 8 weeks, after induction of diabetes by a single dose of streptozotocin. On the last day of treatment, blood was collected for the determination of Serum glucose, glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1C), serum creatinine, serum blood urea nitrogen (BUN). Then, rats were sacrificed and kidney homogenates were used for the estimation of malondialdehyde (MDA) and glutathione (GSH) as markers of oxidative stress. In addition, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-Ü), intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM- 1), as well as, transforming growth factor-Ý (TGF-Ý) were also assessed. Finally, histological examination of kidney tissue was performed

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