SUMMARY. This study is an attempt to elucidate of agmatine effects upon leukocyte apoptosis in experimental diabetes mellitus (EDM). We demonstrated the increase in numbers of the leukocytes with both early and late signs of apoptosis at diabetes. Further changes in the morphofunctional state of the leukocytes include the increased amount of fragmented DNA, elevated apoptotic index and violated ratio of p53 to Bcl-2 proteins. Agmatine has been shown to exert direct corrective effects on leukocyte apoptosis: the content of р53 and Bcl-2 proteins was normalized, apoptotic index was decreased, the process of nuclear DNA degradation was ceased, while the amount of cells with early and late signs of apoptosis was diminished.
Keywords: agmatine, leukocytes, apoptosis, experimental diabetes mellitus
