Abstract
Oxidative damage on biological molecules has been proposed as a major cause of alterations observed during diabetes. In this study, using the excimer forming monitor dipyrenylpropane (DPyP), we measured membrane fluidity of placental mitochondria in diabetic rats with 19 days of gestation and its respective normoglycemic controls. A significant increment (p < 0.001) of mitochondrial membrane fluidity was found in diabetic rats, along with MDA increment. Physicochemical parameters had changes, i.e. lower activation energies in gel (23.0 ± 5.0 vs. 18.2 ± 4.0 kJ/mol) and liquid‐crystalline (13.9 ± 1.3 vs. 12.0 ± 0.4 kJ/mol) phases in the diabetic group (p < 0.05); the transition temperature was lower in diabetic (37.8 ± 1.6 vs. 30 ± 2.0 °C), p < 0.05. There were several changes in fatty acid composition. These results provide further evidence that oxidative stress may play a role in the increment of mitochondrial membrane fluidity during pregnancy in diabetic rats despite the physical effects of lipoperoxides in membranes.Acknowledgements: CONACYT postdoctoral Fellowship to MCFG; financial support from DGAPA‐PAPIIT UNAM to RMZ; financial support from CIC‐UMSNH (2.16 to ASM) and CONACYT (169093 to ASM).
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