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Effect of l-serine on oxidative stress markers in the kidney of streptozotocin-induced diabetic mice

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Abstract

Oxidative stress is critical in the occurrence and development of diabetes and its related complications. l-serine has recently been shown to reduce oxidative stress, the incidence of autoimmune diabetes and improve glucose homeostasis. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of daily l-serine administration on blood glucose, renal function and oxidative stress markers in the kidney of streptozotocin-induced diabetic mice. Eighteen C57BL/6 male mice were randomly divided into three groups (n = 6 per group). Streptozotocin was used to induce diabetes and a group of diabetic mice was treated with 280 mg/day of l-serine dissolved in drinking water for 4 weeks. The level of blood glucose, biochemical markers of renal function (total protein, urea, creatinine and albumin) and oxidative stress markers (protein carbonyls, malondialdehyde, glutathione peroxidase, superoxide dismutase and catalase) were measured using spectrophotometry. The results indicated that l-serine significantly decreased the glucose level in diabetic mice (188.6 ± 22.69 mg/dL, P = 0.02). Moreover, treatment of diabetic mice with l-serine reduced protein carbonyls (3.249 ± 0.9165 nmol/mg protein, P < 0.05) and malondialdehyde levels (1.891 ± 0.7696 μM/mg protein, P = 0.051). However, l-serine showed no significant effects on renal function, and a slight reduction in histopathological changes was observed in mice receiving l-serine. This study revealed that l-serine effectively ameliorates oxidative stress in kidney tissue and reduces the blood glucose concentration in diabetic mice.

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All data generated or analysed during this study are included in this published article.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the University of Tehran for the support of this manuscript.

Funding

This study was supported by the University of Tehran.

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Author notes

  1. Farzaneh Ershad Langroudi and Mahshad Sheikhi Narani are coauthors and have contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Comparative Biosciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

    Farzaneh Ershad Langroudi, Mahshad Sheikhi Narani, Asma Kheirollahi & Akram Vatannejad

  2. Department of Pathology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

    Sara Shokrpoor

  3. Iranian Research Center on Aging, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Samira Alizadeh

Authors
  1. Farzaneh Ershad Langroudi
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  2. Mahshad Sheikhi Narani
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  3. Asma Kheirollahi
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  4. Akram Vatannejad
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  5. Sara Shokrpoor
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Contributions

AK and AV contributed to the study concept and design. Material preparation and data collection were performed by FEL and MSN. SA contributed to the methodology. SS performed the histopathological analysis. The first draft of the manuscript was written by FEL. All authors reviewed and edited the manuscript and approved the final version of the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Asma Kheirollahi.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

All of the experimental procedures were approved the Animal Ethics Committee from the University of Tehran (Approved No.: IR.UT.VETMED.REC.1401.012).

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Handling editor: S. Broeer.

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Langroudi, F.E., Narani, M.S., Kheirollahi, A. et al. Effect of l-serine on oxidative stress markers in the kidney of streptozotocin-induced diabetic mice. Amino Acids 55, 799–806 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00726-023-03270-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00726-023-03270-9

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