Hamadan University of Medical Sciences Avicenna Journal of Medical Biochemistry 2345-4113 1 1 2013 04 01 Effect of flaxseed on serum lipid profile and expression of NPC1L1, ABCG5 and ABCG8 genes in the intestine of diabetic rat 1 6 EN Abbas Mohammadi Fateme Mirzaei Mohammad Nabi Moradi Mohammad Jamshidi Reza Yari Tayebeh Ghiasvand Ali Rezaii Ebrahim Abbasi Oshaghi Journal Article 2013 07 02 2013 09 18 Objectives: The aim of this study was to examine the effect of flaxseed on gene expression of intestinal transporters: Niemann-Pick C1 like 1 (NPC1L1), ATP-cassette binding proteins G5 (ABCG5) and G8 (ABCG8). Methods: Animals were randomly divided into 3 groups 8 rats in each group: group1; normal diet, group2; diabetic rats, and group3; diabetic rats + 4% (w/w) flaxseed. After one-month rats were sacrificed, blood was collected; lipid profiles were determined enzymatically, and mRNA levels were deter-mined by RT-PCR. Results: Compared to diabetic rats, flaxseed significantly decreased total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), triglycerides, very low density lipoprotein cholesterol (VLDL-C) and atherogenic index (all P<0.05). Intestinal NPC1L1 mRNA was significantly decreased (P<0.01) in flaxseed group treatment compared with diabetic animals. Intestinal ABCG5 and ABCG8 mRNAs were significantly increased (P<0.001) in flaxseed group treatment compared with diabetic animals. Conclusion: In conclusion, flaxseed significantly reduced lipid profile and atherogenic index, as compared with the diabetic group. Flaxseed treatment also led to down-regulation of NPC1L1 mRNA and up-regulation of ABCG5 and ABCG8 mRNAs in the intestine of rats.