Effect of Puerarin on Expression of ICAM-1 and TNF-α in Kidneys of Diabetic Rats

  • Med Sci Monit. 2015 Jul 23;21:2134-40. doi: 10.12659/MSM.893714.
Xiaoxia Pan  1 ,  Jianfu Wang  2 ,  Yanhua Pu  3 ,  Jinming Yao  4 ,  Huanjun Wang  4
Affiliations
  • 1. Department of Endocrinology, The Fourth People's Hospital of Ji'nan, Ji'nan, Shandong, China (mainland).
  • 2. Department of Radiology, The Fourth People's Hospital of Ji'nan, Ji'nan, Shandong, China (mainland).
  • 3. Department of Cardiovascular Internal Medicine, The Fourth People's Hospital of Ji'nan, Ji'nan, Shandong, China (mainland).
  • 4. Department of Endocrinology, Shandong Provincial Qianfoshan Hospital, Ji'nan, Shandong, China (mainland).
PMID: 26201474 DOI: 10.12659/MSM.893714
Abstract

Background: As an important factor causing end-stage renal disease, diabetic nephropathy is correlated with low-grade chronic inflammation and immune system activation. This study aimed to investigate the protective function of puerarin on the kidneys of diabetic rats.

Material and methods: A cohort of healthy male SD rats (7 weeks old) were randomly divided into a control group, a model group, and a puerarin treatment group with high (H), moderate (M), and low (L) dosage. After streptozotocin induction, puerarin was applied via intragastric administration for 8 consecutive weeks with dosages of 0.25, 0. 5 and 1.0 mg/(kg·d) for L, M, and H groups, respectively. Fasting blood glucose (BG), creatinine (Scr), urea nitrogen (BUN), and urine albumin excretion rate (UAER) were measured, along with morphological observation of renal cells. The expression of intracellular adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM-1) and tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) was determined using immunohistochemical (IHC) staining, while renal cortex cell Apoptosis was assayed by in situ end-labeling method.

Results: Model rats had significantly elevated levels of BG, Scr, BUN, and UAER compared to controls (p<0.05). All these increases were partially but significantly suppressed by puerarin (p<0.05), which also caused marked improvement of histopathological damages. Puerarin at each dosage significantly eliminated elevations of ICAM-1 and TNF-α levels in model rats (p<0.05), and decreased apoptotic indexes of renal cortex cells (p<0.05).

Conclusions: Early-stage renal damages can be significantly improved by puerarin, possibly via its suppression of ICAM-1 and TNF-α expression in diabetic rat kidneys.

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