Protective effects of glycyrrhizic acid against lupus nephritis in MRL/lpr mice / 南方医科大学学报

ABSTRACT

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate protective effect of glycyrrhizic acid (GA) against lupus nephritis in MRL/lpr mice and explore its underlying mechanisms.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Forty MRL/lpr mice were randomized equally into blank control group, dexamethasone (1.5 mg/kg) group, GA (20 mg/kg) group, and GA (40 mg/kg) group with corresponding treatments for 7 days, with 10 wild-type mice as the control group. Serum levels of uric acid and creatinine and inflammatory cytokines in the serum and kidney were tested after the treatments using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA). The pathological changes in the kidneys were detected using HE staining, and the protein expressions of NLRP3, ASC, caspase-1, IL-1β, p-NF-κB, NF-κB, p-IκBα, and IκBα were detected with Western blotting.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>GA obviously decreased serum levels of uric acid and creatinine, decreased inflammatory cytokines in the serum and kidney, ameliorated renal pathologies and inhibited the expressions of NLRP3, ASC, caspase-1, IL-1β, p-NF-κB, and p-IκBα proteins in MRL/lpr mice.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>GA has protective effects against lupus nephritis in MRL/lpr mice.</p>