Investigation of the effects of meteorin-like protein in experimental model of diabetes

Aim: Diabetes; Diabetic neuropathy (DN) is a disease caused by insulin metabolism and occurs as a result of long-term hyperglycemia. Meteorin-like protein (Metrnl), which has been determined to regulate insulin resistance through studies, is thought to be therapeutic for type-2 diabetes. This study was conducted to investigate the effectiveness of Metrnl in the in-vivo and in-vitro model of diabetic neuropathy. Material and Method: In study, 40 normoglycemic male Balb-C mice were divided 4 groups (n=10). Single dose of streptozotocin (STZ) was injected intraperitoneally (ip) in all groups except control. Animals with blood glucose levels above 250 mg/dL were considered diabetic after 72-hours. 14-day experiments started 21-days after the onset of diabetes. Physiological saline was applied to DN group every day for 14-days, and 2, 4 µg/kg ip Metrnl was applied to treatment groups and hot-plate, tail-flick and von-frey tests were performed during same period. At end of 14-days, animals were decapitated and pancreatic tissues were removed. Dorsal root ganglia (DRG) isolated from 1-2 day old Wistar rats were exposed to high glucose for 24-hours, cellular pathway used by Metrnl with its effect on cell viability was determined. Results: It was determined that Metrnl injection increased pain threshold in mice compared to DN group (p<0.05), improved oxidative stress parameters (p<0.05) and helped preserve the histological integrity of pancreas (p<0.05). Additionally, Metrnl increased cell viability in DRG by using MAPK pathway. (p<0.05). Conclusion: Results show that Metrnl has analgesic activity and improves oxidative damage and histopathological status of pancreas.