Thus, HGF levels could be employed as a biomarker for disease status/progression, and HGF/c-Met signaling pathway modulators could effectively regulate IR and treat diabetes.
In all races/ethnicities, HGF levels were associated with older age, higher systolic blood pressure (SBP) and body mass index, lower high-density lipoprotein, diabetes and current smoking.
Adenovirus encoding human HGF gene or LacZ gene (as the control) was injected into the hindlimb muscles of the C57BL/KsJ-db/db (db/db) mice at the age of 12 weeks, a model of genetic diabetes.
In this study, we demonstrated the therapeutic effect of hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) on advanced rather than early diabetic nephropathy using a rat model of streptozotocin-induced diabetes.
Because peripheral neuropathy due to diabetes is common for significant morbidity, we examined the hypothesis that experimental diabetic neuropathy can be reversed by HGF and prostacyclin synthase genes.
As expected, transfection of human HGF vector resulted in a significant increase in blood flow as assessed by laser Doppler imaging and capillary density, even in the diabetes model, accompanied by the detection of human HGF protein.
Thus, chronically elevated HGF may contribute to the progression of chronic renal disease in diabetes by decreasing the glomerular filtration rate and possibly promoting the accumulation of extracellular matrix.