Abstract:

ABSTRACT Objective: To investigate the effect of different doses of Triptergium glycosides (TG) on the expression of monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) and connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) in early diabetic nephropathy (DN) rats and to explore its mechanism of renal protection. Methodology: Thirty two SD rats were randomly divided into normal control group (NC, n=8), diabetic nephropathy group (DN, n=8), DN treated with small dose of TG group (TG1, n=8) and double dose TG group (TG2, n=8). After 8 weeks, the rat body weight, blood glucose(BG), albumin (ALB), BUN, SCr and 24 hours urinary total protein(UTP) were tested. The Expression of CTGF, MCP-1 and ED-1 was detected by immunohistochemistry. The gene and protein expression of CTGF and MCP-1 in renal tissue was detected by RT-PCR and western blotting. Results: Compared with NC group, the levels of BG, ALB, SCr, BUN and UTP were significantly increased in DN group (P<0.01). Compared with DN group, the levels of ALB and UTP were better significantly in TG group (P<0.05), particularly in TG2 group. The number of ED-1 positive cells was increased significantly in DN group (P<0.01), while which was inhibited by TG treatment (in TG1 and TG2 group, P<0.01), particularly in TG2 group. The expression of CTGF, MCP-1 and CTGF mRNA, MCP-1 mRNA was significantly increased (P<0.01) in DN group, while which was also inhibited by TG treatment, particularly in TG2 group. Conclusion: MCP-1 and CTGF may be involved in the pathogenesis and progression of DN. TG can ameliorate the renal injury of diabetic rats by decreasing the MCP-1 and CTGF expression and reducing the activation of macrophages. The effects of different doses of TG on DN are different, double dose TG may be effective greater.

Key words: Diabetic nephropathy, Triptergium glycosides, Connective tissue growth factor, Monocyte chemoattractant protein-1,  Rats