Effects of berberine on high glucose-induced podocyte apoptosis and its related mechanism / 中国药理学通报

ABSTRACT

Aim To investigate the influence and char-acteristics of high glucose (HG) induced podocyte ap-optosis, and explore the protective effect of berberine on the apoptosis and the possible mechanism. Methods Mouse podocytes were cultured under different time and HG conditions to observe the effects of different glucose levels and time on podocyte apoptosis. The effect of berberine on podocyte activity was measured by CCK-8 assay. Meantime, the protective effect of berberine on podocyte apoptosis was detected by Ho-echst staining and flow cytometry. In addition, the effects of HG and berberine on the expression of apop-totic proteins and related signaling pathways in podocytes were analysed by laser confocal microscopy and Western blot. Results High glucose (15, 20, 25 and 30 mmol • L"1) could induce podocyte apoptosis at 72, 48, 36 and 24h, respectively. Berberine could increase the activity of podocytes cultured with high glu-cose, significantly reduce the apoptosis of podocytes induced by high glucose, down-regulate the expression of caspase-3,6,7,8 and 9 induced by high glucose, and increase the expression of Bcl-2. Conclusions The characteristics of podocyte apoptosis induced by different HG and time may provide important reference for clinical intervention of podocyte apoptosis and kid-ney injury. Berberine can alleviate the apoptosis of podocyte induced by high glucose, and its mechanism may be related to the apoptosis pathway of caspase-8/caspase-3 and Bcl-2/caspase-9/caspase-3 signaling pathways.