Effect of sodium butyrate on glucose and lipid metabolism, insulin expression and apoptosis of β-cells in obese pregnant rats

Purpose: To study the influence of sodium butyrate on the metabolism of lipid and glucose, insulin expression and apoptosis of β-cells in obese pregnant rats. Methods: Three groups of one hundred and twenty 4-week-old female C5BL/6J mice were used: control, high-fat diet and sodium butyrate groups. Insulin, triglycerides and total cholesterol were evaluated by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Insulin levels, as well as area and quality of islet β-cells were assessed using Image Pro Plus software. The number of DAPI-positive islet cells, positive expression of bcl-2 in each islet cell, and apoptosis of islet β-cells in each group were determined. Results: The expression levels of insulin in high-fat diet group and butyrate group were significantly reduced, relative to control, but insulin expression level in Na butyrate group increased, relative to high- fat diet mice (p < 0.01). The area and quality of islet β-cells in high-fat diet and sodium butyrate groups were markedly higher in sodium butyrate group than in high-fat diet group (p < 0.01). The bcl-2 expression in islet β-cells rose in mice given high-fat diet, relative to control and sodium butyrate groups (p < 0.01). Conclusion: Sodium butyrate facilitates glucose and lipid metabolism, but increases insulin expression, and effectively inhibits apoptosis of islet β-cells in obese pregnant mice. Thus, sodium butyrate may be useful in the prevention and treatment of metabolic disorders due to diabetes mellitus (DM).