LAUSR

Notch signaling has a role in the expansion of the pancreas and the pathogenesis of diabetes. Modulation of Notch signaling by natural products seems to pave the way for treating diabetes. This research aimed to scrutinize the involvement of the Notch cascade in the diabetes‐ameliorating effects of an isolated polysaccharide from Rosa canina. The isolated polysaccharide was characterized using Fourier transform infrared, nuclear magnetic resonance, high‐performance gel‐permeation chromatography, and liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry techniques. Rat pancreatic β cells and STZ‐induced diabetic rats were treated with the isolated polysaccharide. MTT assay, cell cycle analysis, quantative realtime‐polymerase chain reaction, immunohistochemistry, and immunoblotting were used to reveal the growth and the expression levels of Notch1, DLL4, Jagged‐1, hes1, Ins‐1, Pdx‐1, and cyclin d1 in treated and untreated pancreatic cells and tissues. The ameliorating effect of the polysaccharide in STZ‐treated cells was accomplished by upregulation of cyclin d1 and hes1 as well as cell cycle progression. Notch inhibition by LY‐411575 was associated with the downregulation of cyclin d1 which upregulates with polysaccharide treatment. The significant expression of cyclin d1 (90%) and nuclear expression of hes1 in the pancreas of the polysaccharide group were accompanied by improvement of hyperglycemia and associated biochemical factors as well as regeneration of islet cells as compared to untreated diabetic rats. Based on these findings, upregulation of Notch signaling‐induced cyclin d1 could be proposed as the underlying diabetes‐reducing effects of the isolated polysaccharide derivative implying that cyclin d1 actuation through activation of the Notch‐DLL4 circuit may play the causal role in the treatment of diabetes.