Passiflora edulis como agente nefroprotetor na doença renal diabética: identificação da proteína WT1 como biomarcador da lesão renal

Abstract

Diabetic kidney disease (DKD) is one of the main complications of type 1 Diabetes mellitus (DM1), being responsible for changes that lead to podocyte injury. When kidney damage occurs, proteins are released into the urinary space, such as Wilms' tumor protein 1 (WT1). Insulin therapy is the main treatment for DM1; however, in some patients, glycemic control is not satisfactory and causes kidney damage. Thus, the present study sought to evaluate the adjuvant therapeutic effect of Passiflora edulis variety flavicarpa Degener Sims (P. edulis) extract associated with insulin in the prevention of RBD by identifying WT1 as biomarker of kidney injury. To this end, 37 Wistar rats with streptozotocin-induced DM1 were used, which were subdivided into 4 groups: control (CTL), diabetic (DB), insulin (INS) and insulin+extract (INS+EXT) and the biochemical and molecular parameters of all groups were evaluated. It was observed at the end of the study that diabetic animals showed the clinical signs of DM1 and the DB group obtained higher expression and quantification of WT1 protein in kidney tissue and urine, respectively. Moreover, the INS+EXT group had their renal function preserved.