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.