Metabolism: clinical and experimental
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Comparative Study
Oxidative stress in Cohen diabetic rat model by high-sucrose, low-copper diet: inducing pancreatic damage and diabetes.
Increased oxidative stress contributes to the development and progression of both types of diabetes mellitus (DM) and its complications. In the Cohen diabetic (CD) rats, a known genetic model of nutritionally induced type 2 DM, a high-sucrose, low-copper diet (HSD) induces within 4 weeks DM in the sensitive (CDs) rats but not in the resistant (CDr) rats. To assess the possible involvement of oxidative stress in the induction of DM, we studied the effect of HSD on the tissue levels of antioxidants and the extent of oxidative injuries in these animals in comparison with the regular outbred strain of nondiabetic Sabra rats. ⋯ Oxidative damage was evaluated by measuring lipid peroxidation and protein oxidation. (1) In all animals fed HSD, the levels of LMWAs were decreased in most organs, although not plasma. (2) A significant difference was consistently found in antioxidant enzymes' activities in the pancreas of HSD-fed CDs rats, but not in other tissues. (3) The activities of superoxide dismutase and catalase and the levels of malondialdehyde and protein carbonyl group increased, whereas the levels of LMWAs decreased, in the pancreas of HSD-fed CDs rats. In the CD rats that develop DM when fed HSD, the pancreas showed susceptibility to oxidative stress-induced injuries. Thus, enhanced oxidative stress seems to play a role in the pathogenesis of DM in this strain.