Background This study is intended to clarify the influence of exogenous bovine lactoferrin (bLf) treatment on glycemic homeostasis, gene expression, and production of lactoferrin (Lf) in rats with experimentally induced diabetes. Methodology Fifty adult male rats were used; 15 rats were used as the normal control rats (group A) and were injected an intraperitoneal (I/P) with 1 ml of isotonic saline daily for 3 months. Thirty-five rats were administered I/P injection of 60 mg of streptozotocin per kilogram body weight to induce diabetes. Thirty streptozotocin-treated rats were selected and used as diabetic rats, and they were subdivided into 2 equal groups (15 rats each): the untreated diabetic group (group B) and treated diabetic group (group C). The rats in the diabetic group were administered an I/P injection of 1 ml of isotonic saline daily for 3 months, while rats in the diabetic treatment group were administered an I/P injection of 300 mg of bLf/kg body weight/day/3 months. At the end of the experiment, blood and renal tissue samples were collected from all rats. The levels of insulin, glucose, and lactoferrin in plasma were measured. Homeostatic model assessment for insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) was performed. The numbers of Lf-mRNA copies in renal tissue were assessed using quantitative RT-PCR. To measure Lf production in renal tissue, Western blot analysis was applied. Results The obtained data demonstrated that the treatment of diabetic rats with bLf maintained glycemic homeostasis at normal levels but increased the mRNA expression of renal Lf. Conclusion In diabetic rats, bovine lactoferrin treatment offers the potential for protection against incidences of insulin resistance (IR) by stimulating the suppressed expression and production of the LTF gene.

中文翻译：

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外源性牛乳铁蛋白的保护作用对糖尿病大鼠肾乳铁蛋白基因表达及血糖稳态的影响

背景 本研究旨在阐明外源性牛乳铁蛋白 (bLf) 治疗对实验性糖尿病大鼠血糖稳态、基因表达和乳铁蛋白 (Lf) 产生的影响。方法 使用了 50 只成年雄性大鼠；15只大鼠作为正常对照大鼠（A组），每天腹腔（I/P）注射1ml等渗盐水，连续3个月。对 35 只大鼠进行 I/P 注射每公斤体重 60 毫克链脲佐菌素以诱发糖尿病。选择30只链脲佐菌素治疗的大鼠作为糖尿病大鼠，将它们细分为2个相等的组（每组15只）：未治疗的糖尿病组（B组）和治疗的糖尿病组（C组）。糖尿病组大鼠每天1ml等渗盐水I/P注射3个月，而糖尿病治疗组大鼠I/P注射300mg bLf/kg体重/天/ 3个月。在实验结束时，收集所有大鼠的血液和肾组织样品。测量血浆中胰岛素、葡萄糖和乳铁蛋白的水平。进行胰岛素抵抗的稳态模型评估 (HOMA-IR)。使用定量 RT-PCR 评估肾组织中 Lf-mRNA 拷贝的数量。为了测量肾组织中 Lf 的产生，应用了蛋白质印迹分析。结果 获得的数据表明，用 bLf 治疗糖尿病大鼠使血糖稳态维持在正常水平，但增加了肾 Lf 的 mRNA 表达。结论 在糖尿病大鼠中，