IMMUNOHISTOCHEMICAL EXPRESSION OF HEPATOCYTE GROWTH FACTOR/c-MET IN THE HEART AND AORTA OF DIABETIC RATS

Context. Diverse physiological or pathological events which are stimulated or contributed by HGF/c-Met pathway overlap by processes that play roles in etiopathogenesis of diabetes. Objective. In this study, it was aimed to analyse hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) and its receptor c-Met by immunohistochemistry in the heart and aorta tissues of diabetic and insulin-treated diabetic rats. Subjects and Methods. Accordingly, 21 rats were (equally) divided into three groups: Control (C), Diabetic (D), and Insulin-treated Diabetic (D + I). Rats were treated with Streptozotocin (STZ) (45 mg/kg, i.p.) to induce diabetes. Rats in the control group were given saline once a day for 8 weeks, while rats in the D + I group received 6 U/kg NPH insulin once daily for 8 weeks. The heart and aorta tissues were examined with immunohistochemistry, using antibodies against HGF and c-Met. Results. HGF and c-Met expressions were observed to be increased both in heart and aorta tissues in group D, whereas they decreased in group D+I. Conclusions. As a result, insulin treatment was determined to have a reducing effect on the increased expression of HGF and c-Met in diabetic heart and aorta. According to our results, increased HGF ve c-Met values observed in the myocardium and aorta in diabetes, are shown to increase in parallel to tissue damage and decrease by insulin treatment which is an effective therapy method.