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Protective Effects of Sepia Ink Melanin on Hepatic Tissue in Streptozotocin-Induced Diabetic Mice

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Abstract

Diabetes mellitus (DM) has emerged as a serious public health concern, due to the high morbidity and mortality resulted from its complications, such as diabetic nephropathy, diabetic cardiovascular complication, and diabetic neuropathy, etc. In this study, we investigated the beneficial effects of sepia ink melanin (SIM) on hyperglycaemia and the restoration of diabetic symptoms in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic model mice. At first, the normal experimental mice were performed with intraperitoneal injection of STZ (40 mg (kg BW)−1) (BW, body weight) to attain diabetes and then were treated with different concentrations of SIM (120, 240 and 480 mg (kg BW)−1) for four weeks. After treatment, significant decrease in gluconeogenesis were determined, accompanied by a notable increase in both glycolysis and oxidative enzyme activities in SIM-treated groups, such as liver marker enzymes in the serum and key antioxidant enzymes in liver. qPCR results revealed the transcriptional alterations in SIM-treated groups. SIM exposure increased the expression levels of several genes related to insulin transduction and PI3K/Akt pathway, including PI3K, Akt, Irs-2, and InsR. Meanwhile, expression levels of Dicarbonyl/l-xylulose reductase (Dcxr) and UDP-glucose dehydrogenase (Ugdh), which are involved in pentose-glucuronate interconversion pathway, were also elevated in SIM-treated groups. Furthermore, histological observation results indicated that nuclear deformation and organelle dissolution were improved, thus could enhance the liver function. These results demonstrated that SIM can be effective in ameliorating diabetic symptoms and improving disease management for diabetic patients.

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Abbreviations

SIM:

sepia ink melanin

Dcxr:

dicarbonyl/l-xylulose reductase

Ugdh:

UDP-glucose dehydrogenase

DHI:

5,6-di-hydroxyindole

DHICA:

5,6-dihydroxyindole-2 carboxylic acid

ROS:

reactive oxygen species

STZ:

streptozotocin

ALT:

alanine aminotransaminase

AST:

aspartate aminotransferase

ALP:

alkaline phosphatase

LD:

lactate dehydrogenase

SOD:

superoxide dismutase

GSH-Px:

glutathione peroxidase

CAT:

catalase

MDA:

malondialdehyde

TEM:

transmission electron microscopy

FBG:

fasting blood glucose

OGTT:

oral glucose tolerance test

cAMP:

cyclic adenosine monophosphate

DCs:

dicarbonyl compounds

AGEs:

advanced glycation end-products.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the Natural Science Foundation of Zhejiang Province (No. LY18C190006) and sponsored by K. C. Wong Magna Fund in Ningbo University.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Applied Marine Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, Ningbo University, Ningbo, 315832, China

    Xiaopeng Wang, Meng Han, Hui Dong, Yun Zhao, Weiwei Song, Chunlin Wang, Changkao Mu & Ronghua Li

  2. Collaborative Innovation Center for Zhejiang Marine High-Efficiency and Healthy Aquaculture, Ningbo, 315832, China

    Weiwei Song, Chunlin Wang, Changkao Mu & Ronghua Li

Authors
  1. Xiaopeng Wang
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  2. Meng Han
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  3. Hui Dong
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  4. Yun Zhao
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  5. Weiwei Song
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  7. Changkao Mu
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Correspondence to Weiwei Song or Chunlin Wang.

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Wang, X., Han, M., Dong, H. et al. Protective Effects of Sepia Ink Melanin on Hepatic Tissue in Streptozotocin-Induced Diabetic Mice. J. Ocean Univ. China 21, 1362–1372 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11802-022-5018-y

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