Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) refers to
glucose intolerance of variable degree with onset or first recognition during pregnancy. It causes
polyhydramnios,
ketoacidosis,
fetal macrosomia, and
neonatal respiratory distress syndrome. The incidence of GDM has greatly increased, hence the search for new interventions that can effectively treat it. The present study investigated the protective effect of
ferulic acid on islet β cells and placental tissues of rats with GDM. Female Sprague Dawley rats (
n = 30) were used in this study. The rats were randomly assigned to three groups of 10 rats each: control group, GDM group and
ferulic acid group. The rats were fed high-fat diet consecutively for 12 weeks, except those in control group. In addition,
ferulic acid group rats received
ferulic acid at a dose of 20 mg/kg
body weight (bwt) intragastrically daily for 12 weeks. The expressions of
insulin signal transduction
proteins and inflammatory factors were determined in rat placental tissue. Apoptosis and levels of expression of apoptosis-related
proteins were assessed in isolated islet β cells. The results showed that the expressions of p-IRS1, p-IRS2, p-PI3K, GLUT1, GLUT3, and GLUT4 were significantly reduced by GDM, but were significantly upregulated
after treatment with
ferulic acid (p < 0.05). The levels of expression of
NF-kB,
ICAM-1, TNF-α and IL-β in placental tissues were significantly higher in GDM group than in control group, but were significantly reduced by
ferulic acid treatment (p < 0.05). However, the
protein expression of
visfatin was significantly reduced by GDM, but was significantly increased by
ferulic acid treatment (p < 0.05). Apoptosis was significantly promoted by GDM in islet β cells, but was significantly and concentration-dependently reduced
after treatment with
ferulic acid (p < 0.05).
Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) also significantly down-regulated the expression of bcl-2, but markedly upregulated the expressions of bax and
caspase-3 (p < 0.05). However, treatment with
ferulic acid significantly and concentration-dependently upregulated the expression of bcl-2, but down-regulated bax and
caspase-3 protein expressions (p < 0.05). These results indicate that
ferulic acid protects β cells from GDM-induced apoptosis and improves
insulin signaling in placenta of female rats with GDM.