Background
Despite the fact that sexual differences increase diabetic risk and contribute to the need for gender-specific care, there remain contradictory
Conclusion
The current proteomic study revealed that impaired protein regulation was more prominent in the muscle tissue of female diabetic rats, which were more susceptible to STZ-induced diabetes. We expect that the present proteomic data can provide valuable information for evidence-based gender-specific treatment of diabetes.
Methods
To examine gender-dimorphic regulation of skeletal muscle proteins between healthy control and STZ-induced diabetic rats of both genders, we performed differential proteome analysis using two-dimensional electrophoresis combined with mass spectrometry.
Results
Animal experiments revealed that STZ treatment rendered female rats more susceptible to induction of diabetes than their male littermates with significantly lower plasma insulin levels due to hormonal regulation. Proteomic analysis of skeletal muscle identified a total of 21 proteins showing gender-dimorphic differential expression patterns between healthy controls and diabetic rats. Most interestingly, gender-specific proteome comparison showed that male and female rats displayed differential regulation of proteins involved in muscle contraction, carbohydrate, and lipid metabolism, as well as oxidative phosphorylation and cellular stress.