en 24834312 Background: Transforming Growth Factor-beta (TGF-β) activation appears to be crucial for tissue injury in Diabetic Nephropathy (DN). Fibromodulin, the small leucine-rich proteoglycan, has been proposed to be the potent TGF-β modulator. In this study, the therapeutic effects of fibromodulin in the kidneys of streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats were investigated. Methods: Diabetic rats received intraperitoneal (IP) injections of recombinant adenovirus expression vectors (RAd5) containing fibromodulin (RAd-FMOD) and were killed after 10 weeks. Proteins were isolated from the rat kidney and separated using two-dimensional gel electrophoresis. The differentially expressed proteins were analyzed using Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS). Results: Ten spots were identified using MALDI-TOF-MS. The identified proteins were primarily responsible for cell metabolism, cytoskeleton formation, and oxidative stress. RAd-FMOD treatment markedly attenuated the albuminuria in diabetic rats. Conclusion: Taken together, these results provide a valuable clue in exploring the mechanism underlying the therapeutic effects of fibromodulin in diabetic nephropathy suggesting that it can be a potential agent in the treatment of this disease. Diabetic nephropathy, Fibromodulin, Proteomics 104 112 https://www.ajmb.org/En/Article.aspx?id=148 https://www.ajmb.org/PDF/En/FullText/148.pdf AkramMalekiZanjan Metabolic Disease Research Center, Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, Zanjan, Iran708AliRamazaniZanjan Pharmaceutical Biotechnology Research Center, Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, Zanjan, Iran710MaryamForoutanDepartment of Molecular Medicine & Genetics, School of Medicine, Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, Zanjan, Iran711AlirezaBiglariDepartment of Molecular Medicine & Genetics, School of Medicine, Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, Zanjan, Iran712ParisaRanjzadVascular Gene Therapy Unit, Research School of Clinical & Laboratory Sciences, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, The University of Manchester, Manchester, UK713AliAwsat MellatiZanjan Metabolic Disease Research Center, Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, Zanjan, Iran714