title: Asiatic acid mitigates hyperglycemia and reduces islet fibrosis in Goto-Kakizaki rat, a spontaneous type 2 diabetic animal model.
abstract: The Goto-Kakizaki (GK) rat is a spontaneous type 2 diabetic animal model, which is characterized by a progressive loss of beta islet cells with fibrosis. In the present study, the hypoglycemic effect of asiatic acid (AA) in GK rats was examined. GK rats receiving AA at a daily dose of 25 mg·kg(-1) for four weeks showed a significant reduction in blood glucose levels. Age-matched normal Wistar rats were given 0.5% sodium carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC-Na) solution for the same periods and used as control. Compared to the normal Wistar rats, GK rats treated with AA showed improvement in insulin resistance partially through decreasing glucose level (P < 0.01) and insulin level (P < 0.05). Furthermore, the results of immunohistochemistry indicate that AA treatment reduced islet fibrosis in GK rats. Fibronectin, a key protein related to islet fibrosis, was over-expressed in GK rats, which was reversed significantly by AA treatment (P < 0.05). These findings suggest that AA has a beneficial effect on lowering blood glucose levels in GK rats and improves fibrosis of islets in diabetes, which may play a role in the prevention of islets dysfunction.
authors.affiliation: Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Drug Screening, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 210009, China.
authors.forename: Xue
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Drug Screening, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 210009, China.
authors.forename: Qian
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.affiliation: Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Drug Screening, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 210009, China.
authors.forename: Dong-Sheng
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Drug Screening, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 210009, China.
authors.forename: Yu-Peng
authors.initials: YP
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Drug Screening, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 210009, China.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Shang
authors.affiliation: Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Drug Screening, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 210009, China.
authors.forename: Lu-Yong
authors.initials: LY
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Drug Screening, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 210009, China.
authors.forename: Hong-Bin
authors.initials: HB
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Drug Screening, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 210009, China. Electronic address: junliu@cpu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liu
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000378:metabolism*; D028041:Centella / Q000737:chemistry*; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005353:Fibronectins / Q000378:metabolism; D005355:Fibrosis; D005951:Glucose Tolerance Test; D006943:Hyperglycemia / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D007328:Insulin / Q000097:blood; D007333:Insulin Resistance; D007515:Islets of Langerhans / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D010182:Pancreatic Diseases / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D053978:Pentacyclic Triterpenes / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008517:Phytotherapy; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains
chemical_list: D001786:Blood Glucose; D005353:Fibronectins; D007328:Insulin; D053978:Pentacyclic Triterpenes; D010936:Plant Extracts; C017032:asiatic acid
keywords: Asiatic acid; Diabetes mellitus; Goto-Kakizaki (GK) rats; Hyperglycemia; Islet fibrosis; Pancreas