Protective action of Jie-Du-Qu-Yu-Zi-Shen prescription in treating lupus nephritis of MRL/lpr mice through inhibiting the TLR9 pathway / 中国比较医学杂志

ABSTRACT

ObjectiveToclarifytheprotectiveactionofaChinesemedicine,Jie-Du-Qu-Yu-Zi-Shen prescription, on the lupus nephritis in MRL/lpr mice through the TLR9-MyD88-NF-κB signaling pathway .Methods Thirty MRL/lpr mice were randomly divided into model group , prednisone group , and traditional Chinese medicine ( TCM) group (n=10).Each treatment group received appropriate treatment or drug therapy for 8 weeks.The pathological changes of mouse renal tissues in the three groups were examined and compared using HE , PAS, and Masson staining .Real-time PCR was performed to compare the expression of TLR-9, MyD88, NF-κBm RNA mRNA in each group of the mice . Results Compared with the model group , the Chinese medicine Jie-Du-Qu-Yu-Zi-Shen prescription significantly improved the renal pathological tissue damages in the MRL/lpr mice.Real-time PCR assay showed that the expression levels of TLR-9, MyD88, NF-κB mRNA in the TCM group were significantly lowered (P0.05 ) .Conclusions Jie-Du-Qu-Yu-Zi-Shen prescription has protective effect on the kidney of MRL /lpr mice, alleviating its pathological changes , and delaying the disease course, probably, through inhibiting the TLR-9-MyD88-NF-κB signaling pathway in the kidneys of MRL/lpr mice.