Zheng Shuguo, Zhao Mengqiu, Wu Yuanjie, Wang Zheng, Ren Younan
Department of Pharmacology, Wannan Medical College, Wuhu, 241002, China.
Department of Basic Theory of Chinese Medicine, Anhui University of Chinese Medicine, Hefei, 230038, China.
BMC Complement Altern Med. 2016 Jan 27;16:31. doi: 10.1186/s12906-016-0993-4.
Danzhi Jiangtang Capsule (DJC), a Chinese medicinal formula, has been clinically used for treatment of diabetes for many years. Previous studies have demonstrated that DJC was able to improve pancreatic islet function in diabetes, but the underlying mechanisms remained unclear.
Streptozotocin (STZ) induced type 1 diabetic rats were treated with DJC for 6 weeks. Fasting plasma insulin and fasting plasma glucose were determined at the end of experiment. Antioxidant status was evaluated by measuring total antioxidant capacity, superoxide dismutase activity and malondialdehyde content in plasma and pancreas. Paraffin sections of pancreas were subjected to H&E staining, TUNEL staining and immunohistochemical examination. Protein levels of Bcl-2, Bax and pancreatic duodenal homeobox-1 (PDX-1) were measured by western blot analysis. Activities of Caspase-3 and Caspase-9 were determined with commercially available kits.
Supplementation with DJC resulted in a significant amelioration of type 1 diabetes as manifested by reduced blood glucose, increased fasting plasma insulin and improved body weight gains. The atrophy and reduction of pancreatic islets were also alleviated in DJC supplemented groups. DJC markedly reduced pancreatic beta cell apoptosis, with Bax protein down-regulated and Bcl-2 protein up-regulated significantly. The activities of caspase-3 and caspase-9 in pancreas were decreased evidently by DJC treatment. DJC effectively ameliorated oxidative stress in type 1 diabetic rats, with the expression of PDX-1 protein increased markedly.
DJC was capable of attenuating STZ induced type 1 diabetes in rats, which might be attributed to the suppression of pancreatic beta cell apoptosis. This study would provide further evidence for clinical use of DJC in the management of diabetes.
丹蛭降糖胶囊（DJC）是一种中药配方，已在临床上用于治疗糖尿病多年。以往研究表明，DJC能够改善糖尿病患者的胰岛功能，但其潜在机制仍不清楚。
将链脲佐菌素（STZ）诱导的1型糖尿病大鼠用DJC治疗6周。实验结束时测定空腹血浆胰岛素和空腹血糖。通过测量血浆和胰腺中的总抗氧化能力、超氧化物歧化酶活性和丙二醛含量来评估抗氧化状态。胰腺石蜡切片进行苏木精-伊红（H&E）染色、TUNEL染色和免疫组织化学检查。通过蛋白质印迹分析测量Bcl-2、Bax和胰腺十二指肠同源盒-1（PDX-1）的蛋白水平。使用市售试剂盒测定Caspase-3和Caspase-9的活性。
补充DJC导致1型糖尿病得到显著改善，表现为血糖降低、空腹血浆胰岛素增加和体重增加改善。补充DJC的组中胰岛的萎缩和减少也得到缓解。DJC显著减少胰腺β细胞凋亡，Bax蛋白下调，Bcl-2蛋白显著上调。DJC治疗明显降低了胰腺中Caspase-3和Caspase-9的活性。DJC有效改善了1型糖尿病大鼠的氧化应激，PDX-1蛋白的表达明显增加。
DJC能够减轻STZ诱导的大鼠1型糖尿病，这可能归因于对胰腺β细胞凋亡的抑制。本研究将为DJC在糖尿病管理中的临床应用提供进一步证据。
