Antidiabetic Effects of Quercetin and Silk Sericin in Attenuating Dysregulation of Hepatic Gluconeogenesis in Diabetic Rats Through Potential Modulation of PI3K/Akt/FOXO1 Signaling: In Vivo and In Silico Studies

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is an intricate disease correlated with many metabolic deregulations, including disordered glucose metabolism, oxidative stress, inflammation, and cellular apoptosis due to hepatic gluconeogenesis aberrations. However, there is no radical therapy to inhibit hepatic gl...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Heba M. Abdou, Ghada M. Abd Elmageed, Hussein K. Hussein, Imane Yamari, Samir Chtita, Lamia M. El-Samad, Mohamed A. Hassan
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-01-01
Series:Journal of Xenobiotics
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2039-4713/15/1/16
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850238748675014656
author Heba M. Abdou
Ghada M. Abd Elmageed
Hussein K. Hussein
Imane Yamari
Samir Chtita
Lamia M. El-Samad
Mohamed A. Hassan
author_facet Heba M. Abdou
Ghada M. Abd Elmageed
Hussein K. Hussein
Imane Yamari
Samir Chtita
Lamia M. El-Samad
Mohamed A. Hassan
author_sort Heba M. Abdou
collection DOAJ
description Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is an intricate disease correlated with many metabolic deregulations, including disordered glucose metabolism, oxidative stress, inflammation, and cellular apoptosis due to hepatic gluconeogenesis aberrations. However, there is no radical therapy to inhibit hepatic gluconeogenesis disturbances yet. We thus sought to probe the effectiveness and uncover the potential mechanism of quercetin (QCT) and silk sericin (SS) in mitigating hyperglycemia-induced hepatic gluconeogenesis disorder, which remains obscure. Administration of QCT and SS to diabetic male albino rats markedly restored the levels of glucose, insulin, advanced glycation end-products (AGEs), liver function enzymes, alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), globulin, and glycogen, in addition to hepatic carbohydrate metabolizing enzymes and gluconeogenesis in comparison with diabetic rats. Furthermore, treatment with QCT and SS modulated hepatic malondialdehyde (MD), reduced glutathione (GSH), superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), nitric oxide, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), and interleukin-1β (IL-1β), in addition to serum interleukin-6 (IL-6) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), implying their effectiveness in safeguarding cells against oxidative impairment and inflammation. Remarkably, QCT and SS treatments led to the upregulation of expression of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinases (PI3K), phospho-Akt (p-Akt), and forkhead box-O1 (FOXO1) genes in hepatic tissues compared to diabetic rats, orchestrating these singling pathways for curtailing hyperglycemia and pernicious consequences in hepatic tissues. Importantly, immunohistochemical investigations exhibited downregulation of caspase-3 expression in rats treated with QCT and SS compared to diabetic animals. Beyond that, the histopathological results of hepatic tissues demonstrated notable correlations with biochemical findings. Interestingly, the in silico results supported the in vivo findings, showing notable binding affinities of QCT and SS to PI3K, GPx, and TNF-α proteins. These results imply that QCT and SS could mitigate oxidative stress and inflammation and regulate hepatic gluconeogenesis in diabetic rats. However, QCT revealed greater molecular interactions with the studied proteins than SS. Overall, our results emphasize that QCT and SS have significant therapeutic effects on attenuating hyperglycemia-induced hepatic gluconeogenesis, with QCT showing superior effectiveness.
format Article
id doaj-art-673c8b9ab7674e8e830c7992acab5bda
institution OA Journals
issn 2039-4705
2039-4713
language English
publishDate 2025-01-01
publisher MDPI AG
record_format Article
series Journal of Xenobiotics
spelling doaj-art-673c8b9ab7674e8e830c7992acab5bda2025-08-20T02:01:21ZengMDPI AGJournal of Xenobiotics2039-47052039-47132025-01-011511610.3390/jox15010016Antidiabetic Effects of Quercetin and Silk Sericin in Attenuating Dysregulation of Hepatic Gluconeogenesis in Diabetic Rats Through Potential Modulation of PI3K/Akt/FOXO1 Signaling: In Vivo and In Silico StudiesHeba M. Abdou0Ghada M. Abd Elmageed1Hussein K. Hussein2Imane Yamari3Samir Chtita4Lamia M. El-Samad5Mohamed A. Hassan6Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Alexandria University, Alexandria 21321, EgyptDepartment of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Alexandria University, Alexandria 21321, EgyptDepartment of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Alexandria University, Alexandria 21321, EgyptLaboratory of Analytical and Molecular Chemistry, Faculty of Sciences Ben M’Sik, Hassan II University of Casablanca, Casablanca P. O. Box 7955, MoroccoLaboratory of Analytical and Molecular Chemistry, Faculty of Sciences Ben M’Sik, Hassan II University of Casablanca, Casablanca P. O. Box 7955, MoroccoDepartment of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Alexandria University, Alexandria 21321, EgyptProtein Research Department, Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology Research Institute (GEBRI), City of Scientific Research and Technological Applications (SRTA-City), Alexandria 21934, EgyptType 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is an intricate disease correlated with many metabolic deregulations, including disordered glucose metabolism, oxidative stress, inflammation, and cellular apoptosis due to hepatic gluconeogenesis aberrations. However, there is no radical therapy to inhibit hepatic gluconeogenesis disturbances yet. We thus sought to probe the effectiveness and uncover the potential mechanism of quercetin (QCT) and silk sericin (SS) in mitigating hyperglycemia-induced hepatic gluconeogenesis disorder, which remains obscure. Administration of QCT and SS to diabetic male albino rats markedly restored the levels of glucose, insulin, advanced glycation end-products (AGEs), liver function enzymes, alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), globulin, and glycogen, in addition to hepatic carbohydrate metabolizing enzymes and gluconeogenesis in comparison with diabetic rats. Furthermore, treatment with QCT and SS modulated hepatic malondialdehyde (MD), reduced glutathione (GSH), superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), nitric oxide, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), and interleukin-1β (IL-1β), in addition to serum interleukin-6 (IL-6) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), implying their effectiveness in safeguarding cells against oxidative impairment and inflammation. Remarkably, QCT and SS treatments led to the upregulation of expression of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinases (PI3K), phospho-Akt (p-Akt), and forkhead box-O1 (FOXO1) genes in hepatic tissues compared to diabetic rats, orchestrating these singling pathways for curtailing hyperglycemia and pernicious consequences in hepatic tissues. Importantly, immunohistochemical investigations exhibited downregulation of caspase-3 expression in rats treated with QCT and SS compared to diabetic animals. Beyond that, the histopathological results of hepatic tissues demonstrated notable correlations with biochemical findings. Interestingly, the in silico results supported the in vivo findings, showing notable binding affinities of QCT and SS to PI3K, GPx, and TNF-α proteins. These results imply that QCT and SS could mitigate oxidative stress and inflammation and regulate hepatic gluconeogenesis in diabetic rats. However, QCT revealed greater molecular interactions with the studied proteins than SS. Overall, our results emphasize that QCT and SS have significant therapeutic effects on attenuating hyperglycemia-induced hepatic gluconeogenesis, with QCT showing superior effectiveness.https://www.mdpi.com/2039-4713/15/1/16type 2 diabetes mellitusquercetinsilk sericinhepatic gluconeogenesiscaspase-3PI3K/Akt/FOXO1 signal
spellingShingle Heba M. Abdou
Ghada M. Abd Elmageed
Hussein K. Hussein
Imane Yamari
Samir Chtita
Lamia M. El-Samad
Mohamed A. Hassan
Antidiabetic Effects of Quercetin and Silk Sericin in Attenuating Dysregulation of Hepatic Gluconeogenesis in Diabetic Rats Through Potential Modulation of PI3K/Akt/FOXO1 Signaling: In Vivo and In Silico Studies
Journal of Xenobiotics
type 2 diabetes mellitus
quercetin
silk sericin
hepatic gluconeogenesis
caspase-3
PI3K/Akt/FOXO1 signal
title Antidiabetic Effects of Quercetin and Silk Sericin in Attenuating Dysregulation of Hepatic Gluconeogenesis in Diabetic Rats Through Potential Modulation of PI3K/Akt/FOXO1 Signaling: In Vivo and In Silico Studies
title_full Antidiabetic Effects of Quercetin and Silk Sericin in Attenuating Dysregulation of Hepatic Gluconeogenesis in Diabetic Rats Through Potential Modulation of PI3K/Akt/FOXO1 Signaling: In Vivo and In Silico Studies
title_fullStr Antidiabetic Effects of Quercetin and Silk Sericin in Attenuating Dysregulation of Hepatic Gluconeogenesis in Diabetic Rats Through Potential Modulation of PI3K/Akt/FOXO1 Signaling: In Vivo and In Silico Studies
title_full_unstemmed Antidiabetic Effects of Quercetin and Silk Sericin in Attenuating Dysregulation of Hepatic Gluconeogenesis in Diabetic Rats Through Potential Modulation of PI3K/Akt/FOXO1 Signaling: In Vivo and In Silico Studies
title_short Antidiabetic Effects of Quercetin and Silk Sericin in Attenuating Dysregulation of Hepatic Gluconeogenesis in Diabetic Rats Through Potential Modulation of PI3K/Akt/FOXO1 Signaling: In Vivo and In Silico Studies
title_sort antidiabetic effects of quercetin and silk sericin in attenuating dysregulation of hepatic gluconeogenesis in diabetic rats through potential modulation of pi3k akt foxo1 signaling in vivo and in silico studies
topic type 2 diabetes mellitus
quercetin
silk sericin
hepatic gluconeogenesis
caspase-3
PI3K/Akt/FOXO1 signal
url https://www.mdpi.com/2039-4713/15/1/16
work_keys_str_mv AT hebamabdou antidiabeticeffectsofquercetinandsilksericininattenuatingdysregulationofhepaticgluconeogenesisindiabeticratsthroughpotentialmodulationofpi3kaktfoxo1signalinginvivoandinsilicostudies
AT ghadamabdelmageed antidiabeticeffectsofquercetinandsilksericininattenuatingdysregulationofhepaticgluconeogenesisindiabeticratsthroughpotentialmodulationofpi3kaktfoxo1signalinginvivoandinsilicostudies
AT husseinkhussein antidiabeticeffectsofquercetinandsilksericininattenuatingdysregulationofhepaticgluconeogenesisindiabeticratsthroughpotentialmodulationofpi3kaktfoxo1signalinginvivoandinsilicostudies
AT imaneyamari antidiabeticeffectsofquercetinandsilksericininattenuatingdysregulationofhepaticgluconeogenesisindiabeticratsthroughpotentialmodulationofpi3kaktfoxo1signalinginvivoandinsilicostudies
AT samirchtita antidiabeticeffectsofquercetinandsilksericininattenuatingdysregulationofhepaticgluconeogenesisindiabeticratsthroughpotentialmodulationofpi3kaktfoxo1signalinginvivoandinsilicostudies
AT lamiamelsamad antidiabeticeffectsofquercetinandsilksericininattenuatingdysregulationofhepaticgluconeogenesisindiabeticratsthroughpotentialmodulationofpi3kaktfoxo1signalinginvivoandinsilicostudies
AT mohamedahassan antidiabeticeffectsofquercetinandsilksericininattenuatingdysregulationofhepaticgluconeogenesisindiabeticratsthroughpotentialmodulationofpi3kaktfoxo1signalinginvivoandinsilicostudies