The Effect of Crocin and Losartan on Genes Associated with Diabetic Nephropathy (FRMD۳ and BMP۷) in Streptozotocin-induced Diabetic Rats

Background and Objective: Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is a serious complication of diabetes mellitus and the most common cause of chronic renal failure. Because the pathogenic mechanism causing DN is unknown, and effective therapy options are limited, novel DN management strategies are required. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of crocin and losartan on the expression of FRMD۳, BMP۷ genes in Streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats.Materials and Methods: Male rats were randomly divided into five groups each containing ۸ animals as follows: group-۱, control; group-۲, diabetes mellitus (DM); group-۳, DM+crocin; group-۴, DM+losartan; group-۵, DM+losartan+crocin. Diabetes was induced by a single dose of streptozotocin (STZ) (۵۰ mg/kg/IP). Four weeks after injection of STZ, rats received crocin (۵۰ mg/kg) and losartan (۲۵ mg/kg) daily for ۴ weeks orally. At the end of the intervention (۸ weeks), animals under deep anesthesia (ketamine (۱۰۰ mg/kg) and xylazine (۱۰ mg/kg)) were killed and blood samples were taken to determine serum levels of glucose, urea, creatinine, MDA, and thiol groups. Real-time PCR was used to assess the expression of the FRMD۳ and BMP۷ genes in the kidney.Findings: Diabetes induction increased serum levels of glucose, Cr, urea, MDA, and Thiol groups, while lowering BMP۷ and FRMD۳ gene expression. Crocin and losartan treatment decreased these biochemical parameters and oxidative stress markers while increasing the expression of the BMP۷ and FRMD۳ genes.Conclusion: Crocin may be a promising treatment for preventing and improving diabetes-related kidney disease due to its anti-diabetic and antioxidant properties. Also, It appears that combining losartan with sufficient doses of crocin improves its efficacy.

کلیدواژه ها:

Diabetic nephropathy ، Crocin ، Losartan ، kidney ، Oxidative stress ، FRMD۳ ، BMP۷