Therapeutic effect of all trans retinoic acid for lupus nephritis in mice / 新乡医学院学报

ABSTRACT

Objective To investigate the therapeutic effect of all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) for lupus nephritis(LN) in mice.Methods Eighteen MRL/lpr mice were randomly divided into control group,cyclophosphamide treatment group and ATRA treatment group,with 6 rats in each group.The mice in control group were administered saline (10 mg· kg-1 · d-1) by intragastric administration for 8 weeks;the mice in ATRA treatment group were administered ATRA (10 mg · kg-1 · d-1) by intragastric administration for 8 weeks;the mice in cyclophosphamide treatment group were given cyclophosphamide (100 mg · kg-1 · d-1) by intraperitoneal injection for 2 days.Blood samples and kidney specimens were collected at the end of the experiment.The levels of blood urea nitrogen (BUN),serum creatinine (Scr) and urine creatinine (Ucr) were detected by full automatic biochemical analyzer;the changes of renal tissue structure was observed by periodic acid schiff;the expression of transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) and monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1) was detected by immunohistochemistry.Results The levels of Scr and BUN of mice in ATRA treatment group and cyclophosphamide treatment group were significantly lower than those in the control group,and the Ucr level was significantly higher than that in the control group (P ＜ 0.01);the BUN level of mice in ATRA treatment group was significantly higher than that in the cyclophosphamide treatment group,but the Ucr level was significantly lower than that in the cyclophosphamide treatment group (P ＜ 0.01);there was no statistic difference in the Scr level of mice between the ATRA treatment group and cyclophosphamide treatment group (P ＞ 0.05).In control group,the glomerular basement nembrane and renal tubular basement membrane of mice was thicken,the mesangial of mice was proliferated;the thicken glomerular basement membrane,renal tubular basement membrane and proliferated mesangial were also seen in ATRA treatment group and cyclophosphamide treatment group which was lighten than control group,and cyclophosphamide treatment group was lighten than ATRA treatment group.The expression of MCP-1,TGF-β1 of mice in cyclophosphamide treatment group and ATRA treatment group were significantly lower than those in the control group (P ＜ 0.05);the expression of MCP-1,TGF-β1 of mice in ATRA treatment group were significantly higher than those in cyclophosphamide treatment group(P ＜ 0.05).Conclusion Both cyclophosphamide and ATRA can reduce the levels of Scr and BUN,lighten the pathological changes of renal and decrease the expression of TGF-β1 and MCP-1 in LN mice;but the effect of cyclophosphamide is better than ATRA.