Effect of herbal cake-partitioned moxibustion on renal function and expression of renal connective tissue growth factor, integrin-linked kinase and bone morphogenetic protein-7 in chronic renal failure rabbits / 针刺研究

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To observe the effect of herbal cake-partitioned moxibustion on renal function and expression of connective tissue growth factor (CTGF), integrin-linked kinase (ILK) and bone morphogenetic protein-7 (BMP-7) in chronic renal failure (CRF) rabbits, so as to reveal its mechanisms underlying improvement of CRF. METHODS: Twenty-four male New Zealand rabbits were randomly divided into control, model, medication and herbal cake-partitioned moxibustion (moxibustion) groups (n=6 rabbits in each group). The CRF model was established by gavage of suspension of Adenine (150 mg·kg-1·d-1) for 21 days. Herbal cake-partitioned moxibustion was applied to "Mingmen"(GV4) and bilateral "Shenshu"(BL23), "Pishu"(BL20) and for 5 moxa-cones every time. Rabbits of the medication group was treated by gavage of Losartan Potassium (2.33 mg·kg-1·d-1). All the treatments were conducted once daily,12 times a course for consecutive 3 courses with a two-day rest after each course of treatment. Serum creatinine (Scr), blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and 24 h urine protein contents were detected by using an automatic biochemical analyzer. The expression levels of CTGF, ILK and BMP-7 proteins and mRNA in the kidney tissue were determined by Western blot and quantitative real time-PCR, separately. RESULTS: Following modeling, Scr and BUN and 24 h urine protein contents were significantly increased in the model group in comparison with the control group (P0.05). CONCLUSION: Herbal cake-partitioned moxibustion can improve renal function in CRF rabbits, which may be related to its effects in suppressing the expression of ILK and CTGF, and in up-regulating the expression of BMP-7 in the kidney tissue.