ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Thymoquinone (TQ) is the most abundant and active ingredient of Nigella sativa (NS) seeds. Its hepatic, renal, and cardiac protective effects have been demonstrated in animal models. Streptozotocin (STZ) is an antibiotic that is widely used experimentally as an agent capable of inducing insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM), also known as type I diabetes mellitus (T1DM). OBJECTIVES: This study was carried out in an attempt to highlight the possible beneficial effects of TQ in STZ-induced diabetes in rats and to determine the predictive value of mesenchymal and epithelial markers in the response of diabetic nephropathy to TQ. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Sixty adult male albino rats were divided in 3 groups: control, diabetic untreated, and diabetic treated with TQ. RESULTS: Diabetic rats exhibited morphological changes in both renal glomeruli and tubules with immunohistochemical expression of the mesenchymal markers Fsp1, desmin, and MMP-17 and disappearance of the epithelial marker ZO-1 largely in the glomeruli of diabetic kidneys. Treatment with TQ significantly attenuated renal morphological and immunohistochemical changes in STZ-induced diabetic rats. CONCLUSIONS: Thymoquinone has protective effects on experimental diabetic nephropathy. Both mesenchymal and epithelial markers serve as excellent predictors of early kidney damage and indicators of TQ responsiveness in STZ-induced diabetic nephropathy.
Subject(s)
Benzoquinones/pharmacology , Diabetic Nephropathies/metabolism , Kidney/drug effects , Animals , Calcium-Binding Proteins/drug effects , Calcium-Binding Proteins/metabolism , Diabetes Mellitus, Experimental/metabolism , Diabetes Mellitus, Experimental/pathology , Diabetic Nephropathies/pathology , Immunohistochemistry , Kidney/metabolism , Kidney/pathology , Male , Matrix Metalloproteinase 17/drug effects , Matrix Metalloproteinase 17/metabolism , RatsABSTRACT
Water-soluble sulfated polysaccharides isolated from two red algae Sphaerococcus coronopifolius (Gigartinales, Sphaerococcaceae) and Boergeseniella thuyoides (Ceramiales, Rhodomelaceae) collected on the coast of Morocco inhibited in vitro replication of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) at 12.5 µg/mL. In addition, polysaccharides were capable of inhibiting the in vitro replication of Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) on Vero cells values of EC50 of 4.1 and 17.2 µg/mL, respectively. The adsorption step of HSV-1 to the host cell seems to be the specific target for polysaccharide action. While for HIV-1, these results suggest a direct inhibitory effect on HIV-1 replication by controlling the appearance of the new generations of virus and potential virucidal effect. The polysaccharides from S. coronopifolius (PSC) and B. thuyoides (PBT) were composed of galactose, 3,6-anhydrogalactose, uronics acids, sulfate in ratios of 33.1, 11.0, 7.7 and 24.0% (w/w) and 25.4, 16.0, 3.2, 7.6% (w/w), respectively.
