Effect of Yishen Tongluo Formula on kidney protection and podocyte skeleton related proteins in rats with membranous nephropathy / 中草药

ABSTRACT

Objective To explore the kidney protection and possible mechanism of Yishen Tongluo Formula (YTF) in rats with membranous nephropathy (MN). Methods A total of 60 SD healthy male rats were randomly divided into 10 for normal group and 50 for MN rat model group. The MN rat model was established by tail iv cationic bovine serum albumin (C-BSA). After successful modeling, they were randomly divided into model group, benazepril group, and YTF groups at low, medium, and high doses (6.61, 13.22, and 26.44 g/kg). Rats in each group were ig administrated once daily for continuous four weeks according to the corresponding dose. At the end of administration, the 24 h urine total protein (UTP), total cholesterol (TC), total protein (TP), albumin (ALB), blood urea nitrogen (BUN), and serum creatinine (Scr) levels were measured. Immunofluorescence was used to detect the deposition of IgG immune complexes in renal tissue. The glomerular basement membrane and podocyte morphology were observed under electron microscope. Immunohistochemistry and qRT-PCR were used to detect the expression of cytoskeleton-related proteins ezrin and synaptopodin in rat kidneys. Results Compared with the model group, the UTP and TC levels in the rats in each treatment group decreased significantly (P < 0.01), and the TP and ALB levels increased significantly (P < 0.01). The middle and high dose groups of YTF were similar to the benazepril group, and the effect was better than the low dose group of YTF. There was no significant difference in the BUN and Scr among the groups. Compared with the control group, the expression of ezrin and synaptopodin mRNA in the kidney of the model group was significantly decreased (P < 0.01). Compared with the model group, the expression of ezrin and synaptopodin mRNA in the podocytes of different treatment groups was increased in different degrees (P < 0.01). The expression levels of ezrin and synaptopodin mRNA in the kidney of rats in the middle and high dose groups of YTF were similar to those in the benazepril group, which were higher than that in the low dose group of YTF. Conclusion YTF has a therapeutic effect on membranous nephropathy in rats. The mechanism may be related to the inhibition of the degradation of podocyte skeleton related proteins ezrin and synaptopodin and the maintenance of the integrity of the podocyte skeleton and foot process.