Experimental study on renal interstitial fibrosis of chronic aristolochic acid nephropathy in rats / 中华肾脏病杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To establish a model of chronic aristolochic acid nephropathy (CAAN) in rats and to investigate the pathogenesis of its renal interstitial fibrosis.Methods Male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into two groups. One group received extract of Aristolochia manshuriensis Kom by gavage intermittently as model group. Another group received only tap water by gavage as controls. Six rats in each group were sacrificed at the end of 4th, 8th and 12th week respectively and the kidneys of each rat were separately harvested. The mRNA and protein expression of type I collagen (Col I ), transforming growth factor-?1 (TGF-?1), connective tissue growth factor (CTGF), plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-1 (TIMP-1) was detected by real-time quantitative RT-PCR and immunohistochemical staining respectively. Results The mRNA expression of Col I, TGF-?1, CTGF, PAI-1 and TIMP-1 in kidney tissue of the rats in model group was significantly upregulated compared to that in controls at the end of 4th week (9.31-, 5.16-, 1.79-, 8.66- and 2.54-fold, respectively) (P