Traditional Chinese Medicine Treats Diabetic Nephropathy by Inhibiting Pyroptosis and Inflammasome： A Review / 中国实验方剂学杂志

ABSTRACT

Diabetic nephropathy （DN） is a serious complication of diabetes， a major risk factor for chronic renal failure and end-stage renal disease， a major cause of deaths of diabetic patients， and a major cause of noncommunicable disease-associated deaths in the world. Pyroptosis and inflammasome activation are closely associated with the occurrence and development of DN. They can mediate a variety of pathological changes such as the loss and fusion of podocytes， up-regulated expression of inflammatory cytokines， macrophage infiltration， glomerular mesangial matrix expansion， and increased urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio， eventually leading to nephron loss and kidney injury. The available studies have reported that the active ingredients in Chinese medicinal herbs or classical prescriptions play a role in the treatment of DN by lowering blood glucose and lipid levels， mitigating insulin resistance， reducing inflammation， alleviating oxidative stress， and regulating immunity. Moreover， the active ingredients can inhibit the activation of inflammasomes and the pyroptosis of renal cells， repair the inflammation-induced damage， improve renal function， and slow the progression of DN， demonstrating definite therapeutic effect. Chinese medicines can treat DN in a multi-target， multi-pathway， and multi-system manner， possessing broad prospects in the prevention and treatment of DN. Despite the extensive studies about the traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） intervention of DN in vivo and in vitro， a comprehensive summary of experimental studies on the TCM intervention of DN model remains to be carried out. This paper reviews the research progress in pyroptosis， inflammasomes， roles of pyroptosis and inflammasomes in DN， and TCM intervention of DN， aiming to provide ideas and reference for the research and development of drugs for this disease.