With the expansion of the animal breeding industry and the increase in the number of pet breeding, the incidence of diabetes in animals is increasing year by year, and diabetic nephropathy, as the most serious complication of microvascular complications of diabetes, has a incidence of up to 30%-40% in recent years. In recent years, a large number of research results have shown that the inflammatory response is closely related to the occurrence and development of diabetic nephropathy, and it is believed that diabetic nephropathy is an inflammatory disease.
First, diabetes is not only for humans, but also for animals is also a very serious disease, which needs to be paid attention to
1. Overview of diabetes
The rapid development of the economy has rapidly improved people's quality of life, and the uncontrolled intake of a large number of high-sugar foods has increased the prevalence of diabetes (DM) year by year. Diabetes mellitus is a class of metabolic disorders characterized by chronic increased glucose in the blood, and common causes include insufficient insulin secretion or insulin resistance.
If the body is high blood sugar for a long time, it will lead to damage to various tissues and organs throughout the body, especially chronic damage to the eyes, kidneys, blood vessels, nerves, and heart, thus causing complications of various diabetes and leading to organ dysfunction. The clinical manifestations of diabetic patients are roughly divided into two types, when people often say "three more and one less", including a large amount of diet, a lot of water, a lot of urination, but the body is suddenly emaciated when it is more common in type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM).
When the body is weak and accompanied by obesity, it is more common in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), and if you do not seek medical attention in time, your body will gradually lose weight. The number of people with diabetes worldwide remains high all year round and is expected to reach 552 million by 2030. The development of diabetes is also serious in China. According to the data, the prevalence of diabetes in people over 20 years old in China has reached 9.7%.
However, the diagnosis rate of diabetes in China is only 30%-40%, which means that only 30-40 people in every 100 diabetics know that they have diabetes, so that the disease is delayed and various complications occur prematurely. In China, the annual cost of treating diabetes can be as high as 170 billion yuan, accounting for about 13% of all medical expenses. The World Health Organization divides diabetes types into four categories: T1DM, T2DM, gestational diabetes and special types of diabetes.
Among them, T1DM and T2DM are the main types. T1DM accounts for about 10% of all patients with diabetes mellitus, and most patients are diagnosed early, with significant and very severe symptoms, most common in children or adolescents. T1DM is generally an organ-specific autoimmune disease mediated by T lymphocytes under the combined action of genetic, environmental and other factors. Islets β cells are destroyed in large quantities, insulin is absolutely deficient, and catabolism is strengthened.
T1DM is characterized by rapid onset, rapid progression, severe disease, poor prognosis, etc., and its treatment is very difficult. T2DM often occurs after the age of 40 years, so it is more common in adults or the elderly, and women are slightly higher than men. The main triggers for T2DM are overweight, stress stimulation, and lack of exercise. It is characterized by a defect in the function of β cells in the islets, which leads to a decrease in insulin secretion or a decrease in the ability of insulin to regulate glucose metabolism in the body caused by insulin resistance.
2. Diabetes in animals
Diabetes is a very serious disease not only for humans, but also for animals. Because diabetes in animals is insidious, it is not easy to be detected, and once found, the course of the disease progresses very quickly, and multiple organ damage occurs, which will eventually lead to death. Studies have found that when black-crowned macaques have symptoms of wasting, mental malaise, slow movement, increased drinking water, and frequent urination, they can often be diagnosed with diabetes when combined with laboratory tests.
This also reminds us to pay attention to the prevention and treatment of diabetes in wild animals. In recent years, it has become fashionable to keep dogs and cats as their companions. This has led to an increasing number of pet dogs and cats, as well as an increase in the number of old dogs and cats. Most of the pet dogs and cats are limited to the scope of activity at home, and the lack of necessary exercise has led to obesity in many dogs and cats, making the prevalence of pet diabetes more and more high.
According to statistics, the incidence of diabetes in dogs between the ages of 7-9 years is the highest, and the incidence of general female dogs is higher than that of male dogs. Diabetes in dogs and cats is mostly due to various factors that make insulin secretion relative or absolutely insufficient, causing metabolic disorders of carbohydrates, proteins and fats in the body. Diabetes symptoms in dogs and cats are similar to those in humans, and typical "three more and one less" occur.
The causes and mechanisms of diabetes in dogs and cats include: genetic factors, pancreatic exocrine diseases, drugs and chemicals, endocrine diseases, infections, immune factors, etc. Studies have found that because diabetes in animals is not easy to detect, most of the time dog and cat owners are sent to the hospital for treatment when the animals have very serious symptoms and complications.
Complications of diabetes in dogs and cats include very common cataracts, which are the leading causes of blindness. Complications of diabetes in dogs and cats also include urinary tract infections, hypertension, dermatitis, kidney disease, hypothyroidism, acidosis, tumors, etc. Therefore, humans should pay more attention to the diabetes of animals and detect and treat them early.
3. Diabetic nephropathy
Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is one of the most important microvascular complications of diabetes mellitus, which can lead to glomerulosclerosis and end-stage renal disease, and is a more serious complication in the later stages of diabetic progression. In some developed countries, about 20%-40% of people with diabetes develop diabetic nephropathy during the 10-20 years of developing diabetes. 50% of people with diabetes develop diabetic nephropathy after 20 years of developing diabetes, and eventually develop end-stage renal disease.
In China, about 5% of people with diabetic nephropathy will eventually develop end-stage renal disease. According to previous studies, the occurrence of diabetic nephropathy is mainly caused by hemodynamic changes and metabolic abnormalities, these abnormal changes activate the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system, oxidative stress-related intracellular signaling cascade of dysfunction, complement system activation, metabolites, increased release of NF-κB.
Clinical regulation of blood glucose and blood pressure through insulin, renin-angiotensin system inhibitors can not prevent the occurrence and development of diabetic nephropathy, so it is urgent to reveal the pathogenesis of diabetic nephropathy other than hyperglycemia and hypertension. A growing number of studies in recent years have shown that levels of inflammatory markers increase in diabetes or insulin resistance.
Pro-inflammatory factors are secreted by lymphocytes and attack islet β cells, resulting in apoptosis or dysfunction of cells, triggering the occurrence of diabetes. Hyperglycemia leads to activation of inflammatory signaling pathways in kidney tissue, increased levels of inflammatory mediators, and inflammatory cell infiltration, which causes a series of pathological changes in kidney tissue cells, triggering diabetic nephropathy.
The inflammatory response is closely related to the occurrence and development of diabetes and diabetic nephropathy, and even some researchers believe that diabetic nephropathy is an inflammatory disease, and alleviating the occurrence and development of diabetic nephropathy by inhibiting the inflammatory response has become an important means of preventing diabetic nephropathy.
Second, taurine has a certain anti-inflammatory function, which can protect lymphocytes and accelerate lymphocyte proliferation
Taurine was discovered as early as 180 years ago, hence the name from its earliest discovery in the bile of bulls in 1827. The scientific name of taurine β-aminoethionic acid, also known as bovine cholic acid, bovine choline, its appearance is white or white-like rod-like crystals, non-toxic, odorless, slightly acidic. Inflammation is an important response of the animal body to various pathological processes.
It can occur in many parts of the body, such as inflammation of the hair follicles, inflammation of the tonsils, pneumonia, hepatitis, nephritis and other acute inflammation, which has changes such as redness, swelling, heat, pain, dysfunction, etc., and is also accompanied by systemic reactions such as fever and leukocytosis. Studies have shown that taurine not only protects lymphocytes, it can also accelerate the proliferation of lymphocytes.
In addition, taurine can also regulate the activity of neutrophils, enhance the phagocytic and bactericidal effect of macrophages, and reduce the damage caused by inflammation to the body by regulating the NF-κB pathway to inhibit the secretion of inflammatory cytokines. Hypochlorous acid itself acts as an oxidizer to activate tyrosinase and then amplify the reaction through a signal cascade that ultimately leads to the production of inflammatory mediators, taurine can directly neutralize hypochlorous acid, reducing the inflammatory response.
There are also studies that confirm that taurine protects the body's tissues from the harm caused by inflammation induced by arteriosclerosis. The production of this inflammation is mainly dependent on an acid scavenger, which is regulated by gene products such as NOS2, TNF-α (tumor necrosis factor - α), cyclooxygenase 2, etc., but all of these are related to the inflammatory response. Taurine can achieve an anti-inflammatory effect by inhibiting the transcription of inflammatory cytokines, thereby reducing the release of inflammatory mediators.
Taurine can also be used as a protective agent to inhibit autophagy-inflammatory body pathways, thereby relieving non-alcoholic steatohepatitis caused by arsenic trioxide. Containing high concentrations of taurine in monocytes and neutrophils, it is eventually converted to chloramine taurine under the action of myeloxidase, which plays an anti-inflammatory function. Studies have shown that taurine, along with its derivatives, has become a potential drug for the treatment of infectious and chronic inflammatory diseases.
Conclusion: At present, the treatment methods of diabetes mainly use injectable insulin, oral hypoglycemic drugs or traditional Chinese medicines, although these drugs have a certain effect on blood glucose control, but there are certain side effects, and the control effect of diabetic complications is not ideal. Therefore, the search for a hypoglycemic drug that is less harmful to the body and can control the occurrence and development of complications has become a hot topic of concern for researchers in recent years. Taurine, as a conditional essential amino acid in the body, has a variety of biological functions.