Momordica charantia nanoparticles promote mitochondria biogenesis in the pancreas of diabetic-induced rats: gene expression study

Background: Mitochondria dysfunction is one of the clinical features of diabetes mellitus (DM), which is a hallmark of insulin resistance (IR). This study investigates the therapeutic effect of Momordica charantia nanoparticles on mitochondria biogenesis in diabetic-induced rats. Forty-two adult wistar rats (average weight of 189 +/- 10.32) were grouped as follows: STZ (65 mg/kg), control group, STZ + silver nitrate (10 mg/kg), STZ + M. charantia silver nanoparticles (50 mg/kg), STZ + metformin (100 mg/kg), and STZ + M. charantia aqueous extract (100 mg/kg). DM was induced intraperitoneal using freshly prepared solution of STZ (65 mg/kg), and rats with fasting blood sugar (FBS) above 250 mg/dl after 72 h of induction were considered diabetic. Treatment started after the third day of induction and lasted for 11 days. Effect of M. charantia nanoparticles on glucose level and pancreatic expression of genes involved in mitochondria biogenesis (PGC-1 alpha, AMPK, GSK-3 beta, PPARY), inflammation (IL-1B, TNF alpha) and glucose sensitivity (PI3K, AKT, PTEN Insulin and Glut2) were quantified using reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Results: The results showed that M. charantia nanoparticles promote mitochondria biogenesis, glucose sensitivity and reverse inflammation in the pancreas of diabetes rat model through upregulation of PGC-1 alpha, AMPK, PPARY, AKT, Insulin and Glut2 mRNA expression and downregulation of GSK-3 beta, PI3K, IL-1B and TNF alpha mRNA expression in the pancreas of diabetic rats. Conclusion: This study thus concludes that M. charantia nanoparticles may provide effective therapeutics against mitochondria dysfunction in the pancreas of diabetic model.