Sialic acid and its associated metabolic enzymes have emerged as important components of the pathophysiology of type 2 diabetes (T2D). There is an elevation in the serum concentration of sialic acid in humans and animals with T2D. The present study investigated the modulation of mRNA expression level of UDP-N-acetylglucosamine-2-epimerase/N-acetylmannosamine kinase (GNE) and neuraminidase 1 (NEU1) genes in some organs of type 2 diabetic rats. T2D was induced using fructose-streptozotocin model and eight weeks after the induction of diabetes, sialic acid was assayed in the blood and organs (adipose tissue, brain, colon, kidney, liver, pancreas, skeletal muscle and spleen) followed by quantification of mRNA expression level of GNE and NEU1 genes by qPCR. The results showed a significant (P < 0.05) increase in sialic acid level in the serum and all the afore-mentioned organs investigated except in the adipose tissue and skeletal muscle of the diabetic rats compared the normal control. The expression GNE gene was only increased in the pancreas (1.8-fold) of the diabetic rats while there was a decrease in the expression of the gene in the colon. In contrast, the expression of NEU1 gene was increased in the spleen (3.5-fold), brain (2.2-fold), liver (1.9-fold), colon (1.5-fold) and kidney of the diabetic rats. It was concluded that the elevated level of sialic acid in the organs of diabetic rats, except the pancreas, might not be due to increased endogenous synthesis of sialic acid.

唾液酸及其相关代谢酶已成为 2 型糖尿病 (T2D) 病理生理学的重要组成部分。患有 T2D 的人和动物的血清唾液酸浓度升高。本研究调查了2型糖尿病大鼠某些器官中UDP-N-乙酰葡萄糖胺-2-差向异构酶/N-乙酰甘露糖胺激酶（ GNE ）和神经氨酸酶1（ NEU1 ）基因mRNA表达水平的调节。使用果糖-链脲佐菌素模型诱导 T2D，诱导糖尿病八周后，测定血液和器官（脂肪组织、脑、结肠、肾、肝、胰腺、骨骼肌和脾）中的唾液酸，然后进行 mRNA 定量通过 qPCR 检测GNE和NEU1基因的表达水平。结果显示，与正常对照相比，糖尿病大鼠的血清和除脂肪组织和骨骼肌外的所有上述器官中的唾液酸水平显着升高（P < 0.05）。 GNE基因的表达仅在糖尿病大鼠的胰腺中增加（1.8倍），而在结肠中该基因的表达减少。相反，糖尿病大鼠的脾脏（3.5倍）、脑（2.2倍）、肝脏（1.9倍）、结肠（1.5倍）和肾脏中NEU1基因的表达增加。结论是，糖尿病大鼠除胰腺外的其他器官中唾液酸水平升高可能不是由于内源性唾液酸合成增加所致。