Poricoic acid A suppresses renal fibroblast activation and interstitial fibrosis in UUO rats via upregulating Sirt3 and promoting ß-catenin K49 deacetylation.

Renal interstitial fibrosis is the common pathological process of various chronic kidney diseases to end-stage renal disease. Inhibition of fibroblast activation attenuates renal interstitial fibrosis. Our previous studies show that poricoic acid A (PAA) isolated from Poria cocos is a potent anti-fibrotic agent. In the present study we investigated the effects of PAA on renal fibroblast activation and interstitial fibrosis and the underlying mechanisms. Renal interstitial fibrosis was induced in rats or mice by unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO). UUO rats were administered PAA (10 mg·kg-1·d-1, i.g.) for 1 or 2 weeks. An in vitro model of renal fibrosis was established in normal renal kidney fibroblasts (NRK-49F cells) treated with TGF-ß1. We showed that PAA treatment rescued Sirt3 expression, and significantly attenuated renal fibroblast activation and interstitial fibrosis in both the in vivo and in vitro models. In TGF-ß1-treated NRK-49F cells, we demonstrated that Sirt3 deacetylated ß-catenin (a key transcription factor of fibroblast activation) and then accelerated its ubiquitin-dependent degradation, thus suppressing the protein expression and promoter activity of pro-fibrotic downstream target genes (twist, snail1, MMP-7 and PAI-1) to alleviate fibroblast activation; the lysine-49 (K49) of ß-catenin was responsible for Sirt3-mediated ß-catenin deacetylation. In molecular docking analysis, we found the potential interaction of Sirt3 and PAA. In both in vivo and in vitro models, pharmacological activation of Sirt3 by PAA significantly suppressed renal fibroblast activation via facilitating ß-catenin K49 deacetylation. In UUO mice and NRK-49F cells, Sirt3 overexpression enhanced the anti-fibrotic effect of PAA, whereas Sirt3 knockdown weakened the effect. Taken together, PAA attenuates renal fibroblast activation and interstitial fibrosis by upregulating Sirt3 and inducing ß-catenin K49 deacetylation, highlighting Sirt3 functions as a promising therapeutic target of renal fibroblast activation and interstitial fibrosis.

[Experimental study of Tangshen formulain improved lipid metabolism and phenotypic switch of macrophage in db/db mice].

Obesity and its associated metabolic disorders, including non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), have become major chronic diseases threatening public health. NAFLD is a chronic liver disorder that is strongly associated with type 2 diabetes and obesity. In this study, we investigated the effects and mechanism of Tangshen formula (TSF) on hepatic dyslipidemia and phenotypic switch of macrophage in db/db mice. Eight-week-old male C57BLKS/J db/m control and db/db mice were divided into 3 groups (namely db/m, db/db, db/db+TSF), and fed with TSF or distilled water for 12 weeks. It was found that after treatment with TSF, the triglycerides accumulation in db/db mice was decreased on the basis of oil red O staining with cryosections of liver tissues. And protein expressions of macrophage activation markers CD68 and F4/80 were decreased according to immunohistochemical analysis of hepatic sections. The mRNA level of TNF-α (M1 marker) was significantly decreased by TSF in db/db mice, but with no significant difference in Mrc1 and Arg1 (M2 marker). According to the results, TSF attenuated hepatic steatosis and relieved dyslipidemia, its mechanism may be correlated with the regulation of macrophage activation and phenotypic switch.

Renoprotective effect of berberine on type 2 diabetic nephropathy in rats.

Inflammation, fibrosis, and lipid disorder are essential promoters in the pathogenesis of diabetic kidney injury in diabetes mellitus type 2. Berberine (BBR) has been reported to have beneficial effects on diabetic nephropathy, but its action mechanism is still unclear. The present study was designed to elucidate the therapeutic mechanism of BBR in a type 2 diabetic nephropathy rat model induced by a high-fat diet and low-dose streptozotocin injection. The diabetic rats were treated with or without BBR by gavage for 20 weeks and examined by serology, 24-h albuminuria, histology, immunohistochemistry, and molecular analyses. Results showed that treatment with BBR significantly reduced serum levels of blood glucose and lipids, inhibited urinary excretion of albumin, and attenuated renal histological injuries in diabetic rats. Berberine treatment also inhibited renal inflammation, which was associated with inactivation of nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B-cell signalling. As a result, the upregulation of pro-inflammatory cytokines (interleukin-1ß, tumour necrosis factor-α) and chemokine (monocyte chemotactic protein-1) was blocked. In addition, BBR treatment also inactivated transforming growth factor-ß/Smad3 signalling and suppressed renal fibrosis, including expression of fibronectin, collagen I, and collagen IV. The present study reveals that BBR is a therapeutic agent for attenuating type 2 diabetic nephropathy by inhibiting nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cell-driven renal inflammation and transforming growth factor-ß/Smad3 signalling pathway.

[Study on role of Chengqi Shengxue prescription in anti-tumor and immunoregulation].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the role of Chengqi Shengxue prescription in anti-tumor and immunoregulation and to evaluate its effect on apoptosis and T lymphocyte subsets of tumor-bearing mice. METHOD: S180 ascites tumor and Lewis lung carcinoma tumor-bearing mice were used in the screening. Then 55 mice were treated randomly with the model, cyclophosphamide (30 mg x kg(-1)), or three different dosages of Chengqi Shengxue prescription (2. 4, 1.2, 0.6 g x kg(-1). After the treatment apoptosis of tumor cell and peripheral T lymphocyte subsets of tumor-bearing mice was analyzed by flow cytometry. RESULT: Lewis lung carcinoma was a nsitive tumor cell line to Chengqi Shengxue prescription. Compared with the model group, significantly increased apoptosis was observed after administration of high and medium dose of Chengqi Shengxue prescription (P < 0. 05) by PI staining. Increased early apoptosis in cancer cells was observed in all experimental doses of Chengqi Shengxue prescription by Annexin V and PI double staining (P < 0.01) . The analysis of T lymphocyte subsets showed that the percentage of CD3, CD4 and CD4/CD8 ratio decreased significantly in model group when compared with the normal ones (P < 0.01), while no change was observed in CD8. In administration groups, CD3, CD4 and CD8 were significantly lower than normal ones (P < 0.01) , but CD4/CD8 ratio did not change significantly. CONCLUSION: Chengqi Shengxue prescription has selectively inhibitive effect on the growth of mouse Lewis lung carcinoma and takes an antitransfer role. Its anti-tumor effect may be owing to inducing tumor cell apoptosis. Chengqi Shengxue prescription improves cellular immune function through enhancing CD4/CD8 ratio.

Anti-fatigue activity of polysaccharides extract from Radix Rehmanniae Preparata.

The anti-fatigue effects of the Radix Rehmanniae Preparata polysaccharides (RRPP) were studied in mice. The RRPP were orally administered at doses of 50, 100 and 200 mg/kg for 4 weeks and the anti-fatigue activity was evaluated using a weight-loaded swimming test, along with the determination of serum urea nitrogen (SUN), hepatic glycogen and blood lactic acid (BLA) contents. The results showed that there was no significant difference in the body weight of mice in the three RRPP groups compared with the negative control group during initial, intermediate and terminal stages in the experiment (p>0.05). The ratio of exhausting swimming time was obviously increased 31.48% (p<0.05) and 61.51% (p<0.01) in the middle-dose group and the high-dose RRPP group, respectively. The BLA and SUN levels were decreased in middle-dose and high-dose RRPP groups (p<0.01). Hepatic glycogen level was increased in three RRPP treated groups (p<0.01). Therefore, RRPP may be responsible for the pharmacological effect of anti-fatigue of Radix Rehmanniae Preparata. The mechanism was related to the increase of the storage of hepatic glycogen and the decrease of the accumulation of SUN and BLA.