Eplerenone protects contralateral kidney tissue from obstruction in pregnant rats with chronic kidney disease / 中国药理学通报

Aim To study the protective effect of eplerenone on the contralateral kidney in pregnant rats with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and its mechanism. Methods Female Wistar rats were randomly divided into sham-operation group, sham-operation pregnancy group, model group and eplerenone group. The rats in the model group and eplenone group had ligation unilateral ureter, and the rats in the eplenone group were treated with 100 mg • kg

Effect of shenluotong decoction on renal interstitial fibrosis in rats with obstructive nephropathy / 中国中西医结合杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To observe the effect of Shenluotong Decoction (SD) on serum levels of aldosterone, monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), α-smooth muscle protein (α-SMA), and nuclear factor-KB (NF-κB) in obstructive nephropathy rats, and to explore the initial mechanism of SD for inhibiting renal interstitial fibrosis.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Totally 48 healthy Wistar rats were randomly divided into the sham-operation group (n =12) and the model group (n =36). Renal interstitial fibrosis rat model was established by unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO). After successful modeling, 36 rats were randomly divided into the model group, the Chinese medicine group, and the Western medicine group, 12 in each group. Eplerenone was added in the forage at the daily dose of 100 mg/kg for rats in the Western medicine group. Chinese medicine was added in the forage at the daily dose of 26 g/kg for rats in the Chinese medicine group. Equal volume of normal saline was administered to rats in the sham-operation group and the model group. All medication was performed once daily. The obstructive kidneys were extracted ten days after medication. The pathomorphological changes were observed. The contents of serum aldosterone and MCP-1, and the protein or mRNA expression of MCP-1, α-SMA, and NF-KB were detected.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Compared with the sham-operation group, infiltration of a large amount of inflammatory cells and collagen deposition significantly increased, serum contents of aldosterone and MCP-1 obviously increased (P < 0.01), the expression of MCP-1 mRNA and protein were significantly up-regulated (P <0.01), the protein expression of α-SMA and NF-KB were significantly enhanced in the model group (P <0.01). Com- pared with the model group, infiltration of inflammatory cells and renal collagen deposition were attenua- ted in the Chinese medicine group and the Western medicine group, the serum MCP-1 level were reduced, and the mRNA and protein expression of MCP-1 were significantly down-regulated (P <0.01), the protein expression of α-SMA and NF-KB were obviously inhibited (P <0. 01). At the same time, serum aldosterone level was reduced in the Chinese medicine group (P <0.01).</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>inflammatory lesions of the renal tissue could promote the progress of interstitial fibrosis in rats with obstructive nephropathy. SD could attenuate interstitial fibrosis through reducing serum contents of aldosterone and MCP-1, down-regulating MCP-1/ NF-KB, and inhibiting the expression of α-SMA.</p>

Effect of Shenluotong on secretion of ECM and expression of TGF-beta1 in rats mesangial cells of rats / 中国中药杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the effect of Shenluotong on the expression of transforming growth factor-beta1 (TGF-beta1) and extracellular matrix (ECM) in Ang II-induced MCs.</p><p><b>METHOD</b>Fibronectin (FN) and collagen type IV (Col IV) of extracellular matrix were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay; the expression of TGF-beta1 mRNA were measured by semi-quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction.</p><p><b>RESULT</b>A positive correlation between TGF-beta1 and ECM were found in the present study. FN, Col IV and TGF-beta1 mRNA were inhibited by Shenluotong significantly.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Shenluotong can decrease the accumulation of ECM and inhibit the expression of TGF-beta1, suggesting further that shenluotong can be used to prevent and treat various glomerular diseases and delay glomerular sclerosis.</p>