Abstract
Diabetes is the most prevalent disease, and the number of people affected by this disease is still increasing. This study was conducted to assess the effect of whey proteins (WPs) on the spleen tissues of diabetic rats. Data showed that a significant decrease in the total body weight was recorded in diabetic animals compared with the non-diabetic control ones. The extent of this weight loss was significantly less in the WP treated diabetic group. Relative spleen weight in the diabetic animals revealed that splenic atrophy was more pronounced compared to those of control ones. Results showed that diabetes significantly up-regulated both the reactive oxygen spices FMO2 mRNA and Fas mRNA when compared with the control animals. Light microscopy showed white pulps that were greatly diffused with highly distributed trabeculae in the spleen tissue of diabetic rats. Moreover, Perl's Prussian blue staining revealed impaired phagocytic activity in diabetic animals. Interestingly, feeding diabetic animals on WPs successfully restored the histological integrity of their spleens. Furthermore, induced diabetes was found to significantly up-regulate both reactive oxygen spices, FMO2 mRNA and Fas mRNA in diabetic animals compared to the control ones. In addition, WPs were found to significantly down-regulate the Fas mRNA in both control and diabetic animals. In conclusion, the current study proved that WPs restored the oxidative stability and the splenic structural integrity and activity, which may be proposed as natural candidates for the treatment of diabetes and oxidative stress.