Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 9, 2026
An Advanced Murine Model for Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis in Association with Type 2 Diabetes
Published on: April 26, 2019
Induction of heme oxygenase 1 in liver of spontaneously diabetic rats
L Cosso1, E P Maineri, N Traverso
1Department of Experimental Medicine (DIMES), Section of General Pathology, University of Genova, Via L.B. Alberti 2, I-16132 Genoa, Italy. lcosso@hotmail.com
Abstract:
It has been suggested that diabetes induces an increase in oxidative stress; the increased expression of heme-oxygenase 1 (HO-1) in liver is believed to be a sensitive marker of the stress response. The aim of this study was to examine whether diabetes is able to induce HO-1 expression in liver. The specific mRNA was amplified by RT/PCR and calibrated with amplified beta-actin mRNA. The mRNA HO-1 levels in the liver of spontaneously diabetic rats were increased by 1.8 fold compared with non diabetics; this supports the hypothesis of weak but significant oxidative damage due to chronic hyperglycaemia. This work represents the first in vivo study exploring the semi-quantitative expression of HO-1 in the liver of spontaneously diabetic rats.