Exploring the beneficial effects of Aloe vera on the kidneys of diabetic rats at the protein level

Abstract

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a metabolic syndrome and is mainly characterized by chronic hyperglycemia. In DM, developing diabetic nephropathy is a major complication. Several studies have shown that Aloe vera (AV) exerts beneficial effects on DM. Proteomic analysis has long been used to systematically study the group of proteins that are being expressed in a given situation. Therefore, in this study, we aimed to evaluate the effect of butanolic fraction of AV (ABF) on the kidneys of type 1 DM rats through proteomic analysis in order to elucidate the protective mechanism of AV. The streptozotocin-induced diabetic model in male Wistar rats was used. We verified that the hypoglycemic effect of ABF lasted up to 6 h after administration. Through proteomic analysis, 36 proteins related to DM were identified with statistical differences between control and diabetics without treatment groups. Thereafter, to verify the results of ABF and insulin, a new statistical analysis was performed considering the treated groups. ABF treatment exerted a beneficial effect by altering the expression of nine of these proteins, among which six of them showed interaction with each other as presented in the string map (10-kDa heat shock, cytochrome P450 2C23, L-lactate dehydrogenase B chain, fructose-bisphosphate aldolase A, transaldolase and cAMP-dependent protein kinase catalytic subunit beta). In conclusion, AV modulated proteins related to mitochondrial function, vascular system and glycolysis/pentose pathway in diabetes situation and these results provide further insights and understanding of the possible molecular mechanisms by which AV may lead to the establishment of treatment and prevention methods for DM-associated kidney damage.