Effect of dapagliflozin against NAFLD and dyslipidemia in type 2 diabetic albino rats: possible underlying mechanisms

W.M. Said Ahmed, A. Soliman, A.E. Ahmed Amer, R.M. El Shahat, M.M. Amin, R.S. Taha, M.M.Y. Awad, A.M. Abdel Hamid, M.S. El-Sayed, E.A. Eid, M. Dmerdash, H.E. Ali, E.M.M. Fayed, S.A.M. Naeem, A.F. Elsharawy, O.M.A.M. Elzahaby, M.K. Ayoub, D.A. Mohammed

Department of Medical Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Al-Azhar University, Damietta, Egypt. melsayed@horus.edu.eg

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• Diabetes
• Internal Medicine

OBJECTIVE: The aim was to investigate the effect of dapagliflozin on non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and dyslipidemia in type 2 diabetic rats by studying the histopathological structure of the liver and detecting possible underlying mechanisms for this impact by evaluating the potential anti-inflammatory action of dapagliflozin.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: 100 albino rats were used in this work and divided into five equal groups: group I (Control group), group II (Control diabetic group), group III (was administered dapagliflozin, 0.75 mg/kg, p.o.), group IV (was administered dapagliflozin, 1.5 mg/kg, p.o.), and group V (was administered dapagliflozin, 3 mg/kg, p.o.).

RESULTS: In our study, the total body weight, liver weight, liver index, blood glucose level, insulin level, insulin resistance, total cholesterol, triglycerides, liver enzymes, IL-1 β, and MDA were significantly higher in the control diabetic group than the normal group. The dapagliflozin reduced all the above variables significantly in a dose-dependent manner compared to the control diabetic group (p-value = 0.001 for all).

CONCLUSIONS: Dapagliflozin may be a promising novel treatment strategy for treating T2DM-related non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), and dyslipidemia where it possesses anti-oxidative, anti-inflammatory and anti-dyslipidemic effects.

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