Mechanism research of Bu-Shen-Huo-Xue formula against renal fibrosis in rats with 5/6 nephrectomy via E-cadherin, α-SMA, and TGF-ß1
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OBJECTIVE: Renal fibrosis generally results in renal failure during the end stage of chronic renal diseases. There are many cell factors including E-cadherin, α-SMA, and TGF-ß1 influencing deposition of extracellular matrix and leading to renal fibrosis. As the most important and widely-used therapy for various diseases in China for thousands of years, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) provides a novel treatment for renal fibrosis. For clinical application, we explore the effect of Bu-Shen-Huo-Xue formula (BSHX), a traditional Chinese herbal formula, on E-cadherin and α-SMA in rats with 5/6 nephrectomy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Sprague-Dawley rats were subjected to 5/6 nephrectomy to induce chronic renal failure (CRF); they were divided into three groups including a CRF control group, a BSHX group, and a Cozaar group, and compared with a normal control group. After 8 weeks of therapy with the respective drug, E-cadherin, α-SMA, and TGF were detected by immunohistochemistry assays in renal tissues. RESULTS: As the immunohistochemistry assays indicated, BSHX could significantly enhance the expression of E-cadherin and depress the levels of α-SMA and TGF-ß1 expression in rats' renal tissues with 5/6 nephrectomy. CONCLUSION: BSHX can effectively relieve the renal fibrosis in rats with 5/6 nephrectomy via the change of cell factor levels including enhancement of the expression of E-cadherin and depression of the levels of α-SMA and TGF-ß1 expression.
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Comparative pharmacokinetics of bergenin, a main active constituent of Saxifraga stolonifera Curt., in normal and hepatic injury rats after oral administration.

Bergenin, isolated from the herb of Saxifrage stolonifera Curt. (Hu-Er-Cao) has hepatoprotective, anti-inflammatory, antitussive, and neuroprotective activities. The aim of the present study was to establish a simple, rapid, and sensitive RP-HPLC method for determination of bergenin in rat plasma and compare its oral pharmacokinetic behaviors in normal and CCl4-induced hepatic injury rats. With norisoboldine as an internal standard, chromatographic separation was performed on a C18 analytical column with acetonitrile and water (11 : 89, V/V) containing 0.1% formic acid as the mobile phase. A good linearity was obtained over the range of 100-10 000 ng·mL-1. The lower limit of quantification was 50 ng·mL-1. The developed method was successfully applied to a study of the pharmacokinetic difference of bergenin (100 mg·kg-1) between normal and hepatic injury rats after oral administration. Marked alterations of pharmacokinetic parameters in hepatic injury rats were observed. Compared to normal rats, the AUC(0-∞) of bergenin in hepatic injury rats was elevated to 2.11-fold and Cmax was increased by 130%, whereas CL value was only 55% of the normal rats, suggesting that the systemic exposure of bergenin was significantly increased under hepatic injury status.

[New evidence for the author of the medical ethics novel Doctor's Mirror].

Yijiejing (Doctor's Mirror), the first novel focused on medical ethics in the late Qing dynasty, aimed at meliorating medical ethical atmosphere by criticizing disorders among medical practitioners. Some contents of this novel were the same as those in Yijie Xianxingji (Revelation of Medical Community). By comparison between the two books and investigation on Doctor's Mirror's introduction, preface and advertisement in the newspaper at that time, we could find that the author of Doctor's Mirror was not the novelist LU Shi-e, but YU Wen-yao, the author of Yijie Xianxingji. Distribution of Yijie Xianxingji was stopped soon after its publication by the Commercial Press for its allusion to a famous doctor in Shanghai. Two years later, YU made some slight modifications the details of the novel's characters and his book was published with a different title Doctor's Mirror and the pen-name 'medical hermit among scholars'.

Salvianolic acid B reverses the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition of HK-2 cells that is induced by transforming growth factor-ß.

Salvianolic acid B (Sal B) is the most abundant bioactive molecule from Radix Salviae Miltiorrhizae, and has recently been used for treating renal fibrosis in traditional Chinese medicine. Here we investigated the ability reversal of Sal B to reverse the transdifferentiation of human kidney proximal tubular epithelial cells that was induced by transforming growth factor-beta 1 (TGF-ß1). The effects of Sal B on HK-2 cell morphology were observed by phase contrast microscopy, while alpha smooth muscle actin and E-cadherin were studied by immunocytochemistry and real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction, respectively. Exposure of HK-2 cells to TGF-ß1 for 72 h induced a complete conversion of the epithelial cells to myofibroblasts. When HK-2 cells were co-incubated with Sal B and TGF-ß1 for a further 72 h, the morphology of myofibroblasts returned to that of proximal tubular epithelial cells, whereas the myofibroblast phenotype was maintained after exposure of cells to TGF-ß1 for 144 h. Sal B reduced alpha smooth muscle actin levels and increased E-cadherin levels compared with their epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition controls. The reversal effect of Sal B was dose-dependent. That Sal B reverses the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition in vitro suggests that it could possibly facilitate the repair of tubular epithelial structures and the regression of renal fibrosis in injured kidneys.