We investigated the changes of renal structure and its function in normal glucose tolerance (NGT), impaired glucose tolerance (IGT), diabetes mellitus (DM), and diabetic kidney disease (DKD) stages in OLETF rats and explored the role of the INS/IRS-1/PI3-K/Akt signaling pathway.
Based on the "yin-yang" theory of traditional Chinese medicine, the present study explored the effect of QiDiTangShen (QDTS) granules on DN and the phosphorylation balance of tyrosine and serine residues of IRS-1.
These results suggest that HG compromises the insulin signaling pathway in the glomerulus, promoting a proapoptotic environment, with a possible critical step for this malfunction lying at the level of IRS-1 phosphorylation; thus we herein demonstrate glomerular insulin signaling as another target for investigation for the prevention and/ or treatment of diabetic nephropathy.