Abstract:

AIM: To study the effects of Shenshuaining granules on the expression of nuclear factor kappa B (NF-kB) and peroxisome proliferator activated receptor gamma (PPAR-gamma) in kidney tissue of diabetic nephropathy (DN) rats.  METHODS: The DN rats model were induced by high-fat diet combined with intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin (35 mg/kg). Forty DN rats model were randomly divided into control group (same volume 0.9% NaCl), Shenshuaining (SSN) group (SSN granules 2 g/kg), saxagliptin group (saxagliptin tables 0.6 mg/kg), SSN and saxagliptin group (SSN granules 2 g/kg + saxagliptin tables 0.6 mg/kg) intragastric administration once per day, for 8 weeks. The renal pathological changes were evaluated by HE staining, the fasting blood glucose (FBG) were tested by glucose meter, glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) were tested by glycated hemoglobin meter, serum creatinine (Scr), urea nitrogen (BUN) and serum Cystatin C (Cys-C) were tested by automatic biochemical analyzer, the levels of tumor necrosis factor alfa (TNF-alfa), intercellular adhesion factor-1 (ICAM-1) and monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1) were detected by ELISA method, and the expression of NF-kB and PPAR-gamma were detected by immunohistochemical method. RESULTS:The glomerular capillary structure was damaged and fibrosis in the control group, and capillary lumen was shown stenosis and lipid deposition, the renal interstitial was also shown blood vessel growth. The glomerular lesions were improved in experimental group, and glomerular and capillary structures were relatively intact. The levels of FBG, HbA1c, Scr, BUN, Cys-C, TNF-alfa, ICAM-1 and MCP-1 in experimental group were significantly lower than those of control group, the differences had statistical significance (P<0.05). The expression of NF-kB in experimental group was significantly lower than that of the control group, and the expression of PPAR-gamma was higher than that of control group, the differences had statistical significance (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: Shenshuaining granules can improve the renal glomerulus and capillary structure for diabetic nephropathy rat, reduce blood sugar, protect renal function, alleviate inflammation, relieve kidney disease, the mechanism may be related with decreasing NF-kB expression and increasing PPAR-gamma expression in glomerular tissue.

Key words: Shenshuaining granules, diabetic nephropathy, renal function, inflammatory response, nuclear factor kappa B, peroxisome proliferator activated receptor gamma