Expression of CTRP3, a Novel Adipokine, in Rats at Different Pathogenic Stages of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and the Impacts of GLP-1 Receptor Agonist on It

This study aimed to investigate the expression of C1q/TNF-related protein-3 (CTRP3) in rats at different pathogenic stages of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and the impacts of glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist on it. Male wistar rats were fed with high-fat diet for 10 weeks to induce insulin resistance (IR) and then were given low-dose streptozotocin (STZ) intraperitoneal injection to induce T2DM. Exendin-4 (Ex-4), a GLP-1 receptor agonist, was subcutaneous injected to the IR rats and T2DM rats for 4 weeks. The expression of CTRP3 mRNA and protein in epididymis adipose tissue of rats at the stage of IR was lower significantly than that of normal control (NC) rats and decreased more when they were at the stage of overt T2DM (all P