ABSTRACT
Objective To study the expression of interleukin-18(IL-18)during the progression of renal interstitial fibrosis in rat kidney after unilateral ureteral obstruction(UUO)and the effect of Shenfu injection.Methods The obstructive nephropathy model was established by unilateral ureteral obstruction(UUO).Fifty。Six rats were randomly assigned into shame operation group,operation group(UUOgroup)and treatment group(UUO+Shenfu).After 7 and 14 days,the renal function and histopathological changes were evaluated.Immunohistochemistry was used to examine the expression of IL-18 in renal tissue.Results In comparison with the shame opeartion group,the operation group showed obvious renal interstitial fibrosis.And the expression of IL-18 increased signifieantly(P<0.05).Compared with the operation group,the degree of interstitial fibrosis was obviously ameliorated in the treatment group,and the expression of IL-18 decreased significandy after treatment for 7 days(P<0.05),and decreased more after treatment for 14 days(P<0.05).Conclusions Shenfu injection may protect renal function by decreasing the expression of IL-18 in the progression of renal interstitial fibrosis.