Abstract: Objective: In other to provide a theoretical basis to make better use of Acaudina molpadioides, we studied the regulatory effect of an enzymatic hydrolysate of A. molpadioide on glucose and lipid metabolism in mice with diabetic nephropathy. Methods: db/db diabetic mice were fed normally for 10 weeks and subsequently administered with different doses of the hydrolysate for 12 weeks. Urine glucose (UG), fasting blood glucose (FBG), glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c), glycosylated serum protein (GSP), fasting insulin (FIN) and serum lipid levels were examined at regular intervals during the administration period. Using gene chip technology, the expression levels of related genes in the kidney were measured and compared between different groups and the results were validated using real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Results: Compared with the model group, the hydrolysate at all doses significantly decreased UG, FBG, HbA1c and GSP (P < 0.05), improved oral glucose tolerance, significantly lowered serum total cholesterol (TC) and low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) (P < 0.05), and increased high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C). In addition, we identified 81 differentially expressed genes, including 54 up-regulated and 27 down-regulated genes. The expression levels measured by qRT-PCR of 11 selected genes were consistent with the results of gene chip test. Conclusion: The enzymatic hydrolysate from Acaudina molpadioide can significantly control glucose and lipid metabolism in db/db diabetic mice (P < 0.05), and the underlying mechanism may be related to slc2A4 expression level.

Key words: sea cucumber hydrolysate, diabetes, gene chip, slc2A4 gene