ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE To explore the improvement mechanism of proanthocyanidins on acute kidney injury （AKI） induced by gentamicin in rats. METHODS Gentamicin sulfate was injected intraperitoneally to construct the AKI rat model； the model rats were randomly divided into model control group， benazepril hydrochloride 5 mg/kg group （positive control）， proanthocyanidins 50 mg/kg group， proanthocyanidins 100 mg/kg group， and proanthocyanidins 200 mg/kg group， with 10 rats in each group； in addition， 10 normal rats were selected to be treated as the normal control group. The rats in each administration group were given corresponding liquid intragastrically， and the normal control group and model control group were given equal volumes of normal saline intragastrically， once a day， for 28 consecutive days. After the last administration， the levels of serum creatinine （SCr）， blood urea nitrogen （BUN）， malondialdehyde （MDA）， superoxide dismutase （SOD）， glutathione peroxidase （GSH-Px） and 24 h urinary protein （UP） were detected； the renal index was calculated； the pathological changes of renal tissue were observed and the pathological score was calculated； the apoptotic rate of cells in renal tissue and the expression levels of Caspase-3 and Bcl-2 associated X protein （Bax）， as well as the phosphorylation levels of silent information regulator of transcription 1 （SIRT1） and AMP-activated protein kinase （AMPK） were detected. RESULTS Compared with the model control group， the levels of SCr， BUN， UP and MDA， the renal index， the pathological score of renal tissue， the apoptotic rate of cells in renal tissue， the protein expression levels of Caspase-3 and Bax in renal tissue of rats in each administration group were decreased significantly； SOD and GSH-Px levels， phosphorylation levels of SIRT1 and AMPK protein were increased significantly （P＜0.05）， and the effect of proanthocyanidins was in a dose-dependent manner （P＜0.05）. There were no significant differences in the above indexes between proanthocyanidins 200 mg/kg group and benazepril hydrochloride 5 mg/kg group （P＞0.05）. CONCLUSIONS The improvement effect of proanthocyanidins on AKI rats may be related to the activation of SIRT1/AMPK signaling pathway to inhibit oxidative stress.
ABSTRACT
To investigate the effect of Huazhi Rougan Granules(HZRG) on autophagy in a steatotic hepatocyte model of free fatty acid(FFA)-induced nonalcoholic fatty liver disease(NAFLD) and explore the possible mechanism. FFA solution prepared by mixing palmitic acid(PA) and oleic acid(OA) at the ratio of 1∶2 was used to induce hepatic steatosis in L02 cells after 24 h treatment, and an in vitro NAFLD cell model was established. After termination of incubation, cell counting kit-8(CCK-8) assay was performed to detect the cell viability; Oil red O staining was employed to detect the intracellular lipid accumulation; enzyme-linked immunosorbnent assay(ELISA) was performed to measure the level of triglyceride(TG); to monitor autophagy in L02 cells, transmission electron microscopy(TEM) was used to observe the autophagosomes; LysoBrite Red was used to detect the pH change in lysosome; transfection with mRFP-GFP-LC3 adenovirus was conducted to observe the autophagic flux; Western blot was performed to determine the expression of autophagy marker LC3B-Ⅰ/LC3B-Ⅱ, autophagy substrate p62 and silent information regulator 1(SIRT1)/adenosine 5'-monophosphate(AMP)-activated protein kinase(AMPK) signaling pathway. NAFLD cell model was successfully induced by FFA at 0.2 mmol·L~(-1) PA and 0.4 mmol·L~(-1) OA. HZRG reduced the TG level(P<0.05, P<0.01) and the lipid accumulation of FFA-induced L02 cells, while elevated the number of autophagosomes and autophagolysosomes to generate autophagic flux. It also affected the functions of lysosomes by regulating their pH. Additionally, HZRG up-regulated the expression of LC3B-Ⅱ/LC3B-Ⅰ, SIRT1, p-AMPK and phospho-protein kinase A(p-PKA)(P<0.05, P<0.01), while down-regulated the expression of p62(P<0.01). Furthermore, 3-methyladenine(3-MA) or chloroquine(CQ) treatment obviously inhibited the above effects of HZRG. HZRG prevented FFA-induced steatosis in L02 cells, and its mechanism might be related to promoting autophagy and regulating SIRT1/AMPK signaling pathway.