Aim: Despite the beneficial effects of dietary restriction (DR) on lifespan, age-related diseases, including diabetes and cardiovascular diseases, its effects on type 2 diabetic nephropathy remain unknown. This study examined the renoprotective effects of DR in Wistar fatty (fa/fa) rats (WFRs).
Methods: WFRs were treated with DR (40% restriction) for 24 weeks. Urinary albumin excretion, creatinine clearance, renal histologies, acetylated-NF-κB (p65), Sirt1 protein expression, and p62/Sqstm 1 accumulation in the renal cortex, as well as electron microscopic observation of mitochondrial morphology and autophagosomes in proximal tubular cells were estimated.
Results: DR ameliorated renal abnormalities including inflammation in WFRs. The decrease in Sirt1 levels, increase in acetylated-NF-κB, and impaired autophagy in WFRs were improved by DR.
Conclusions: DR exerted anti-inflammatory effects and improved the dysregulation of autophagy through the restoration of Sirt1 in the kidneys of WFRs, which resulted in the amelioration of renal injuries in type 2 diabetes.
Copyright © 2011 Munehiro Kitada et al.