Abstract
BACKGROUND
Diabetic encephalopathy is a prevalent complication of diabetes mellitus, which is primarily characterized by hippocampal injury and blood-brain barrier (BBB) dysfunction. This study investigates the neuroprotective effect of tea polyphenols (TP) on hippocampal tissue in early-stage diabetic mice.
METHODS
Sixty BALB/c mice were randomly assigned to the control group (C), the diabetes group (T0), and the TP-treated group (T1). After successful model induction, mice in group T1 received TP intragastrically (100 mg/kg/d). Hematoxylin and eosin (H&E), toluidine blue, and Hoechst 33342 staining, combined with polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), were used to assess the effects of TP on hippocampal histology, inflammation and oxidative stress, the advanced glycation end products (AGEs) - Receptor for Advanced Glycation End products (RAGE) pathway, and the expression of key proteins associated with the BBB.
RESULTS
The contents of AGEs, RAGE, NF-κB, P-glycoprotein (P38), and oxidative stress factors in group T1 were lower than those in group T0 at 7, 14, and 21 days ( p p Glut1 ) mRNA expression increased in group T1 ( p p IL-6 , TNF-α , ROS, and Glut1 were significantly or highly significantly positively correlated with RAGE protein levels ( p p < 0.01).
CONCLUSIONS
TP enhanced BBB structural integrity by inhibiting the AGEs-RAGE pathway, thereby attenuating hippocampal tissue damage.