Free radicals which have critical roles in living systems through their beneficial and detrimental effects play an important role in medical revolution in health. Radicals are produced in the cells and tissues of our bodies by various processes and reactions. Diabetes mellitus is an extremely common disease in the world which seems to be accompanied by a shortage of antioxidants and an increase in free radicals, the end result of oxidative stress. Glutathione S-Transferases (GST / EC 2.5.1.18) are found in enzymatic defense system which has a role in defending cells against potentially toxic and/or carcinogenic compounds.
In this study, the changes in the activities and expressions of various GST isozymes in the liver of diabetic rats related to oxidative stress were studied. The effects of antioxidants, Vitamin C and & / #945 / -Lipoic acid on GST isozyme activities and mRNA expressions were also investigated. According to our results, diabetic rats exhibited decreased mRNA expressions of both GSTA2 and GSTM1 genes, but the activities of only GST Mu isozyme decreased in diabetic rats, compared to controls and GST Alpha isozyme activity remained unchanged in diabetic animals. Our results also showed that & / #945 / -Lipoic acid individually has no significant effect on both GSTA2 and GSTM1 gene expressions and activities. Furthermore, although the administration of Vitamin C alone showed no significant effect on all GST isozyme activities, it decreased GSTA2 mRNA expression significantly. The administration of Vitamin C and & / #945 / -Lipoic acid together affected both GSTA2 and GSTM1 mRNA expressions in control rats, but only GST Mu activity showed a significant change.
The results of this study showed that, the administration of two antioxidants, & / #945 / -Lipoic acid and Vitamin C alone and together did not reverse the results of diabetes at the level of both gene expression and activities of GST isozymes.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:METU/oai:etd.lib.metu.edu.tr:http://etd.lib.metu.edu.tr/upload/12610081/index.pdf |
| Date | 01 September 2008 |
| Creators | Irtem Kartal, Deniz |
| Contributors | Irtem Kartal, Deniz |
| Publisher | METU |
| Source Sets | Middle East Technical Univ. |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | M.S. Thesis |
| Format | text/pdf |
| Rights | To liberate the content for public access |
Page generated in 0.0015 seconds