ABSTRACT
Objective: To investigate the effect of ethyl acetate extract of Shenbing No. 1 Decoction (EASD) on the expression of TGF-β1 and a-SMA in rats with renal fibrosis. Methods: Totally 50 SD rats were randomly divided into Sham operation group, unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO) model group, Lotensin treated group (1.67 mg/kg), Shenbing No. 1 Decoction group (18.75 g/kg) and EASD group (300 mg/kg). A rat model of renal fibrosis was induced by unilateral ureteral ligation. The rats were executed after 14 d. The contents of 24 h urinary protein (24hUP), serum blood urea nitrogen (BUN), and serum creatitine (Scr) were tested. Renal tubular interstitial fibrosis was evaluated by HE staining and Masson staining. The protein expression levels of TGF-β1 and a-SMA were observed by immunohistochemical method. Quantitative real-time PCR was adopted to inspect the mRNA expression of a-SMA and TGF-β1. Results: Compared with Sham-operation group, in rats of other groups, the serum levels of BUN and SCr increased (P 0.05). Conclusion: Shenbing No. 1 Decoction and EASD may ameliorate renal interstitial fibrosis by down-regulating the expression levels of TGF-β1 and a-SMA.