Pyruvate-Enriched Oral Rehydration Solution Improves Glucometabolic Disorders in the Kidneys of Diabetic db/db Mice

Figure 3

Pyruvate effects on PDH immunohistochemistry in diabetic kidney homogenate and pathological changes in PAS staining and TEM after different treatments (). Oral pyruvate comparably preserved PDH contents with the mean density (IOD/area) in immunohistochemistry staining in groups Pyr and Pyr-ORS, compared with group Con, in diabetic db/db mice. Pathological alterations showed reduction of mesangial matrix expansion as well as glomerular volume in groups Pyr and Pyr-ORS relative to group Con in PAS and attenuation of edema in glomerular endothelial cells and podocytes in TEM, as arrows indicated. Nor (normal), C57BLKS/J nontreated mice; Con (control), C57BLKS/J diabetic db/db nontreated mice; Pyr, db/db mice drunk distilled water containing 1% pyruvate; Pyr-ORS, db/db mice drunk pyruvate-enriched ORS to replace distilled water, containing 0.35% pyruvate. The protein expression levels of PDH were evaluated in the mean density (IOD/area) by immunohistochemistry (a). Renal pathological changes were examined by PAS staining and TEM (b, c). Mesangial matrix index (%) and mean density (IOD/area) (d, e). PDH: pyruvate dehydrogenase; IOD: integrated optical density. Values represented , and vs. Non; ^# and ^## vs. Con.