The investigation of effects of vitamin C and Benfothiamine on alterations in the experimental diabetic rat kidney tissues

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a chronic metabolic disorder with microvascular and macrovascular complications. Thickening and hyperthropy of glomerular basement membrane and renal function disorders can be seen due to oxidative stres in patients with diabetic nephropathy. Antioxidant effects of benfothiamine have been reported in recent years. Vitamin C is also an important antioxidant with the protective effects against lipid peroxidation.In this study, we investigated the protective effects of benfothiamine and vitamin C against apopitosis in streptozotosin (STZ) induced experimental diabetic rats.We studied on 28 albino, male Wistar rats with 6 week age. We seperated this rats to 4 groups as 7 rats in each group. No intervention executed to control group (group 1). To other 3 groups 0.1 M STZ in sodium citrate buffer (pH:4.5) was administered intraperitoneally (i.p.). After the onset of DM, no intervention was executed to diabetic group (group 2). To DM+benfothiamine group (group 3 ), 70 mg/kg/day benfothiamine and to DM+vitamin C group (group 4) 900 mg/kg/day vitamin C was administered by oral route for 6 weeks. After the experiment rats were decapitated and renal tissues were obtained and dyed with hematoxylen-eosin and Tunel paints.In our study, we determined prominent glomerular and mesangial matrix hyperthrophy, tubular dilatation, injury of tubuler epithelium, transparent tubuli with glucogenic vacuolisation (Armani-Ebstein lesion) on the renal tissues of diabetic group rats with PAS staining.In the vitamin C group, we determined increase of mesangial matrix and glomerular hyperthrophy similar with diabetic group. On the other hand, although tubular dilatation, injury of tubulus epithelium and glucogenic vacuolisation of vitamin C group were less prominant than diabetic group, but healing of these lesions were less than benfothiamine group.In conclusion, we determined the protective effects of benfothiamine and vitamin C against the oxidative stress due to DM and these findings can be useful to prevent diabetic complications.Keywords: Diabetes mellitus, benfothiamine, vitamin C, apopitosis, kidney.