Effects of cyclohexenonic long-chain fatty alcohol in type 2 diabetic rat nephropathy

We attempted to clarify the effects of cyclohexenonic long-chain fatty alcohol (CHLFA) on the alterations of type 2 diabetes-induced nephropathy. Forty-week-old male Goto-Kakizaki (GK) and Wistar rats were divided into four groups of 6 to 8 animals. Group A consisted of eight Wistar rats and served as an age-matched control group. Group B (7 GK rats) received no treatment and served as a diabetic group. Group C (6 GK rats) was treated daily with low-dose CHLFA (2 mg/ kg/body weight, subcutaneously) for 30 weeks, and Group D (6 GK rats) with high-dose CHLFA (8 mg/kg/body weight) for 30 weeks. At the end of the treatment period, urinary protein excretion, blood chemistry, renal histological, and immunohistological analyses were conducted. Although CHLFA administration did not influence serum glucose or insulin levels, it reversed diabetes-induced increases in urinary protein excretion and serum creatinine. Light microscopically, CHLFA treatment ameliorated the otherwise elevated glomerular sclerotic scores in the diabetic group.Immunohistochemically, increased expression of desmin and decreased expression of rat endothelial cell antigen-1 in the group with untreated diabetes both showed a reversal to control levels in the high-dose CHLFA treatment group. In conclusion, CHLFA may ameliorate type 2 diabetes-induced nephropathy.