Abstract: Objective To study the effects of Jinmaitong on expression of UCP3 and IGF-1 in dorsal root ganglion(DRG) of STZ-induced diabetic rats. Methods The STZ-induced diabetic rats were randomly divided into 4 groups including normal control group (Con), Diabetic group(DM), JMT group(JMT) and Taurine group(Tau). Six rats were in each group. All rats were given intragastric administration for 16 weeks and then culled．The mechanical withdrawal threshold was tested by electronic Von Frey instrument before death．Immunohistochemical and q-PCR method was applied to detect the expression of UCP3 and IGF-1 in dorsal root ganglion. Results Compared with the control group, the mechanical pain threshold in the DM group was significantly decreased (P<0.01). The protein levels and the levels of mRNA expression of UCP3 and IGF-1 in DM group was much lower than that in control group (P<0.01). JMT significantly improved mechanical pain threshold (P<0.01).Compared with DM group, the protein levels and the levels of mRNA expression of UCP3 and IGF-1 significantly increased (P<0.01). Conclusions JMT stimulated neuroprotection as well as neuroregeneration through up-regulating the expression of UCP3 and IGF-1 in DRG.

Key words: Diabetic peripheral neuropathy, dorsal root ganglion, uncoupling protein 3, insulin like growth factor 1, Jinmaitong