ABSTRACT
OBJECTVE To study the improvement effects of obacunone on renal interstitial fibrosis （RIF） in unilateral ureteral obstruction （UUO） model mice， and to investigate its mechanism based on ferroptosis mediated by nuclear factor erythroid 2- related factor 2（Nrf2）/glutathione peroxidase 4 （GPx4） signaling pathway. METHODS Thirty mice were randomly divided into sham operation group， model group， irbesartan group （positive control， 20 mg/kg）， obacunone low-dose and high-dose groups （10， 40 mg/kg）， with 6 mice in each group. Except for sham operation group， UUO model was established by ligation of unilateral ureter in other groups. After operation， administration groups were given intraperitoneal injection of relevant medicine， and sham operation group and model group were given intraperitoneal injection of constant volume of normal saline， once a day， for 7 consecutive days. The levels of creatinine （Cr） and blood urea nitrogen （BUN）， the content of malondialdehyde （MDA） and the activities of total superoxide dismutase （T-SOD） in serum and the concentration of Fe2+ in renal tissue were all detected. HE staining and Masson staining were performed to observe the morphology and the fibrosis of renal tissues. Immunohisto- chemical staining was used to determine expressions of the fibronectin （Fn）， α-smooth muscle actin （α-SMA）， GPx4 964083717@qq.com and Nrf2 in renal tissue. Western blot and real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction （RT-qPCR） were used E-mail：834300205@qq.com to detect the protein and mRNA levels of Fn， α-SMA， Nrf2， GPx4 and SLC7A11 in the renal tissues. RESULTS Compared with sham operation group， serum levels of Cr and BUN， the concentration of Fe2+ in renal tissue， the protein and mRNA levels of Fn and α-SMA in model group were increased significantly （P＜0.05）， while the activity of T-SOD in serum， protein and mRNA expressions of Nrf2， GPx4， SLC7A11 in kidney tissue were significantly decreased （P＜0.05）； in the kidney tissue， the renal tubules were dilated， the collagen deposition was obvious， the fibrous bands were thicker and darker， and the renal interstitial inflammatory cells infiltrated significantly. After intervened with obacunone， the levels of above indexes （except for mRNA expression of SLC7A11 in obacunone low-dose group） in serum and renal tissue were reversed significantly （P＜0.05）， and pathological damage and collagen deposition of kidney tissue were alleviated. CONCLUSIONS Obacunone can improve renal interstitial fibrosis of UUO model mice， the mechanism of which may be associated with activating the Nrf2/GPx4 pathway and then inhibiting ferroptosis to relieve RIF in UUO model mice.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTVE To study the effects of Zhilong huoxue tongyu capsules on intracerebral hemorrhage ，long non-coding RNA（LncRNA）and its target genes in mice. METHODS Twenty-four male C 57BL/6 mice were randomly divided into sham operation group 1，model group 1 and Zhilong huoxue tongyu capsule low-dose and high-dose groups （0.35，1.40 g/kg）. Collagenase was injected into the caudate nucleus to construct the model of intracerebral hemorrhage. One hour after the operation ， the mice in each treatment group were given the corresponding medicinal solution ，and the mice in the sham operation group 1 and the model group 1 were given normal saline intragastrically ，once a day ，for 3 consecutive days. The morphological changes of the brain tissue of the mice in each group were observed by hematoxylin-eosin staining and Nissl staining. The protein and mRNA expression of interleukin- 1β（IL-1β）and tumor necrosis factor-α（TNF-α）in the brain tissue were detected by immunohistoche- mistry，Western blot and real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction （PCR）. In addition ，9 of male C 57BL/6 mice were randomly divided into sham operation group 2，model group 2 and intervention group （Zhilong huoxue tongyu capsule 1.40 g/kg）. The mice were modeled and administered according to the above method ，and then the whole brain tissue of mice in E-mail：tanruizhi627@swmu.edu.cn each group was isolated ， total RNA was extracted and sequenced，followed by analyzing the different LncRNA. Gene ontology（GO）enrichment was performed to predict effective LncRNA and target genes ，and verified by real-time quantitative PCR. RESULTS Compared with model group 1，the brain tissue pathological damages were significantly improved in Zhilong huoxue tongyu capsule low-dose a nd high-dose groups ，and the IL -1β， TNF-α protein and mRNA expression in brain tissue were significantly decreased （P＜0.05）. Two effective LncRNAs were screened out. The results of in vivo verification test （LncRNA-Dlst-211 was highly expressed in model group 2，and significantly down-regulated after the intervention of Zhilong huoxue tongyu capsules ； LncRNA-Dlst-211 target genes Rps 6kl1 and LncRNA-MSTRG.8169.4 were expressed weakly in model group 2，and strongly up-regulated after intervention ）were consistent with the sequencing results. CONCLUSIONS Zhilong huoxue tongyu capsules can improve the brain injury and inflammatory response in intracerebral hemorrhage model mice ，and its mechanism may be related to down-regulating the expression of LncRNA-Dlst-211 and up-regulating the expression of LncRNA-MSTRG. 8169.4 and Rps 6kl1.