title: A quantitative study of sodium tungstate protective effect on pancreatic beta cells in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats.
abstract: Diabetes is a major public health problem. Development of new therapies that are able to improve glycemia management, cure diabetes, and can even protect from it, are of great interest. This study investigated the protective effect of sodium tungstate against STZ-induced beta-cell damages by means of stereological methods. Sixty rats were divided into six groups: control (C), tungstate-treated control (TC), STZ-induced diabetic (D), STZ-induced diabetic rats were treated by sodium tungstate from 1 week before STZ injection (TDB), food-restricted diabetic (FRD), and diabetic rats treated with sodium tungstate 1 week after STZ administration (TDA). Stereological estimation of pancreas volume, islets volume density, volume-weighted mean islets volume and mass of beta cells, islets, and pancreas and total number of islets were done. Islets volume density, volume-weighted mean islets volume, and mass of beta cells, islets, and pancreas of TDB group was significantly higher than D, FRD and TDA groups (P<0.001) and was comparable to controls (C and TC groups). Total number of islets, pancreas wet weight and volume did not show any significant changes between these groups (P>0.05). Results suggested that sodium tungstate preserves pancreatic beta cells from STZ-induced damages and diabetes induction in rats.
authors.affiliation: Division of Histology, Faculty of Medicine, Zahedan University of Medical Sciences, P.O. Box 98165-488, Zahedan, Iran. histology_iri@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Zahra
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Heidari
authors.forename: Hamidreza
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Mahmoudzadeh-Sagheb
authors.forename: Bita
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Moudi
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000032:analysis; D003921:Diabetes Mellitus, Experimental / Q000473:pathology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D007328:Insulin / Q000097:blood; D050417:Insulin-Secreting Cells / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D013311:Streptozocin; D017973:Tungsten Compounds / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D001786:Blood Glucose; D007328:Insulin; D017973:Tungsten Compounds; D013311:Streptozocin; C025399:sodium tungstate(VI)