Spectrofluorimetric Characterization of Serum Pentosidine and Retinol Binding Protein in Healthy Rats and Rats with Streptozotocin-Induced Diabetes

Abstract

Recently, the fluorescence techniques have become increasingly important in medical diagnostics. Moreover, there is a growing need to introduce cost-effective and no time-consuming techniques for the investigation of various fluorophores in humans and animals with diabetes mellitus. In the studied literature, the newly diagnosis of diabetes mellitus and, subsequently, the risk of developing diabetes complications are reported to be correlated with the production of serum fluorophores pentosidine and retinol binding protein. As far as we are aware, there has been no study on the simultaneous fluorescence evaluation of pentosidine and retinol binding protein in biological fluids obtained from animals. In the present study, the emission intensity and levels of serum pentosidine and retinol binding protein were monitored in both healthy rats and rats with streptozotocin-induced diabetes. The results showed that the height of the peak at ~382 nm attributed to the presence of pentosidine in the serum, and the height of the peak at ~465 nm attributed to retinol binding protein in the serum were significantly higher in rats with streptozotocin-induced diabetes compared to healthy control rats. Also, their contributions to the total fluorescence of serum were significantly higher in rats with streptozotocin-induced diabetes compared to healthy control rats. Thus, fluorescence spectroscopy might be a reliable and useful technique that can be successfully applied in the evaluation and monitoring of serum pentosidine and retinol binding protein in both healthy rats and rats with streptozotocin-induced diabetes.