Ligustilide alleviates podocyte injury via suppressing the SIRT1/NF-κB signaling pathways in rats with diabetic nephropathy.

Content Provider	Europe PMC
Author	Xu, Feng Ye, Zi Tao, Shuo Liu, Wangshu Su, Jianbing Fang, Xingxing Wang, Xueqin
Copyright Year	2020
Abstract	BackgroundDiabetic nephropathy (DN) is one of the common chronic microvascular complications of diabetes, and podocyte injury and dysfunction are strictly related to the pathogenesis of DN. Studies have shown that ligustilide (LIG) has anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and anti-apoptotic activities. This study was designed to investigate the therapeutic effect of LIG in DN rats and their mechanisms.MethodsDN rat models (n=10) were induced by streptozotocin (STZ) combined with a high-fat diet. Rats in the LIG group were intragastrically administered with LIG daily for eight weeks, and animals in the positive control group were treated with Losartan potassium. The body weight and blood glucose were checked weekly during the treatment. The pathological changes of kidney tissue were observed with hematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining. Blood lipid profiles and renal function-related markers, including total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), blood urea nitrogen (BUN), and serum creatinine (Scr) were monitored using a biochemical analyzer. The protein expression of nephrin was determined by immunohistochemistry and Western blotting. Finally, Western blot was used to determine the protein expression of Sirtuin 1 (SIRT1) and nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB).ResultsCompared with the healthy control group, rats in the DN group have slower weight gain, increased blood sugar level, renal lesions, and impaired renal function, along with decreased nephrin expression, abnormally activated NF-κB, and inhibited SIRT1 protein expression. All the above conditions were improved after intervention with either losartan potassium or LIG.ConclusionsLIG attenuates podocyte injury by regulating the SIRT1/NF-κB signaling pathway and thereby exerts its protective effect on renal function in DN rats.
ISSN	23055839
Volume Number	8
PubMed Central reference number	PMC7576076
Issue Number	18
PubMed reference number	33241003
Journal	Annals of Translational Medicine [Ann Transl Med]
e-ISSN	23055847
DOI	10.21037/atm-20-5811
Language	English
Publisher	AME Publishing Company
Publisher Date	2020-09-01
Access Restriction	Open
Rights License	Open Access Statement: This is an Open Access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0), which permits the non-commercial replication and distribution of the article with the strict proviso that no changes or edits are made and the original work is properly cited (including links to both the formal publication through the relevant DOI and the license). See: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0. 2020 Annals of Translational Medicine. All rights reserved.
Subject Keyword	Ligustilide (LIG) podocyte injury Sirtuin 1/nuclear factor-kappa B signaling pathway (SIRT1/NF-κB signaling pathway) diabetic nephropathy (DN)
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article
Subject	Medicine