Department of Hormones, National Research Centre, Cairo, Egypt AbstractThe study was aimed to estimate whether pre-treatment with sodium selenite or taurine would reverse kidney damage induced by intraperitoneal injection of mercuric chloride in rats. Animals were divided into six groups: (1) control group; (2) sodium selenite group; (3) taurine group; (4) HgCl 2 group; (5) sodium selenite pretreated group; (6) taurine pretreated group. The results demonstrated that HgCl 2 causes significant enhancement in serum malondialdehyde (MDA), creatinine, N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase (NAG), cystatin C, nephrin and interleukin 6 (IL-6) levels accompanied with significant reduction in serum nitric oxide (NO) level. Pretreatment with sodium selenite or taurine produces significant depletion in MDA, NAG, cystatin C, nephrin and IL-6 levels in concomitant with significant elevation in serum NO level as compared to HgCl 2 group. HgCl 2 induced pathological alterations in the kidney. The ultrastructural investigation of renal cortex of HgCl 2 -administered group revealed that the glomerular basement membrane is uniform, the fenestrations of endothelial cells are swollen, and the secondary foot processes appear also swollen even fused at some points. The proximal convoluted tubules showed apical short and few microvilli, while, some tubular cells showed relatively normal microvilli. In contrast, sodium selenite or taurine pretreatment could significantly reduce the pathological alterations in the kidney caused by HgCl 2 intoxication. The current results suggested that selenium and taurine possess nephroprotective efficacy due to their antioxidative capacity and anti-inflammatory activity.

Introduction: Type II diabetes is a multifactorial metabolic disorder that affects more than 348 million people worldwide. The pathway of type II diabetes is characterized both by insulin resistance in muscle, fat, and liver in addition to a relative failure of pancreatic cells. CitrullusLanatus (Watermelon) is one of the few foods naturally rich in amino acids citrulline and lycopene which decrease serum glucose concentration in diabetic rats. Aim of the study:To study the structural changes in diabetic pancreas and the possible role of watermelon rind ingestion in ameliorating the pancreatic changes in experimentally-induced type II diabetes mellitus in rats. Materials and methods: Eighteen female adult albino rats weighing 170g-200g were randomly divided into three equal groups. Diabetes was induced in all the rats except GI by intraperitoneal injection of 120 mg/kg.b.wnicotinamide, followed by streptozotocin (STZ) at a dose of 60mg/kg.b.w. 15 minutes later, to induce type 2 diabetes. Rats were divided into three groups: namely GI control, GII diabetic, GIII diabetic watermelon rind juice treated. The mean values of body weight and the blood glucose levels were assessed. Histological study of the different experimental groups was done using H&E, Mallory trichrome, Orcein, and immunohistochemical stain for detection of Endothelial Nitric oxide Synthase eNOS positive endothelial cells. Data obtained by morphometric and statistical studies were discussed in relation to the microscopic findings. Results: Diabetes caused harmful effects on the structure of the pancreas. In addition, watermelon rind improved the histological findings if compared with the diabetic untreated group. Also, watermelon rind treatment showed strong immunohistochemical expression for eNOS. Conclusion: Watermelon rind ingestion in Streptozotocin induced diabetic female albino rat resulted in ameliorating the structural changes in the pancreas.