Physiological and Prophylactic Effectof C-Peptideand Insulinon Renal Functionsin Experimental Diabetic Rats

Abstract

The present study was undertaken to explore the effects of exogenous administration of c-peptide and/or insulin on certain renal function parameters of experimentally induced diabetic rats.Intraperitonealy injected (streptozotocin60 mg/kg body weight) rats were used. Diabetic rat groups were subjected to exogenous injection of insulin either alone or in combination with c-peptide for 6 weeks. Fasting blood samples were collected from all rat groups at 15 days intervals for monitoring the blood level of glucose, urea, creatinine, uric acid and c-peptide. Also, post 24 h urine was collected by using metabolic cages and used for determination of urinary creatinine clearance, micro-albumin, nitric oxide, sodium and potassium. Results obtained revealed that treatment of diabetic rats with c-peptide combined with insulin was associated with a noticeable improvement in kidney function parameters of diabetic rats as compared with their injection alone. The administration of a combination of c-peptide and insulin could be considered as aprophylactic tool to prevent or relieve the incidence of renal dysfunction usually associated with complicated diabetic patients, as c-peptide positively affects physiological renal functions, additional studies at cellular and molecular levels are also needed.