scholarly journals Xuesaitong Protects Podocytes from Apoptosis in Diabetic Rats through Modulating PTEN-PDK1-Akt-mTOR Pathway

2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rui Xue ◽  
Ruonan Zhai ◽  
Ling Xie ◽  
Zening Zheng ◽  
Guihua Jian ◽  
...  

Diabetic kidney disease (DKD) is a major cause of end-stage renal disease (ESRD), and therapeutic strategies for delaying its progression are limited. Loss of podocytes by apoptosis characterizes the early stages of DKD. To identify novel therapeutic options, we investigated the effects of Xuesaitong (XST), consisting of total saponins from Panax notoginseng, on podocyte apoptosis in streptozotocin- (STZ-) induced diabetic rats. XST (5 mg/kg·d) or Losartan (10 mg/kg·d) was given to diabetic rats for 12 weeks. Albuminuria, renal function markers, and renal histopathology morphological changes were examined. Podocyte apoptosis was determined by triple immunofluorescence labelling including a TUNEL assay, WT1, and DAPI. Renal expression of Nox4, miRNA-214, PTEN, PDK1, phosphorylated Akt, mTOR, and mTORC1 was detected. In diabetic rats, severe hyperglycaemia and albuminuria developed, and apoptotic podocytes were markedly increased in diabetic kidneys. However, XST attenuated albuminuria, mesangial expansion, podocyte apoptosis, and morphological changes of podocytes in diabetic rats. Decreased expression of PTEN, as well as increased expression of Nox4, miRNA-214, PDK1, phosphorylated Akt, mTOR, and mTORC1, was detected. These abnormalities were partially restored by XST treatment. Thus, XST ameliorated podocyte apoptosis partly through modulating the PTEN-PDK1-Akt-mTOR pathway. These novel findings might point the way to a natural therapeutic strategy for treating DKD.

Diabetology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-35
Author(s):  
Keiichiro Matoba

Diabetic kidney disease (DKD) is a global epidemic leading to end-stage renal disease (ESRD) and susceptibility to cardiovascular disease, with few therapeutic interventions. A hallmark of DKD is the activation of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system and hemodynamic changes in glomerulus. Although intensive therapy with agents that targets those abnormalities lowers the risk of DKD progression, it does not completely abolish the risk of ESRD and cardiovascular events. Recent studies have illustrated the importance of renal inflammation, oxidative stress, and activated Rho-associated protein kinase (ROCK) signaling as essential pathogenesis for the development of DKD. In this commentary, these topics will be discussed.


2003 ◽  
Vol 284 (6) ◽  
pp. F1138-F1144 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kumar Sharma ◽  
Peter McCue ◽  
Stephen R. Dunn

Diabetic nephropathy is increasing in incidence and is now the number one cause of end-stage renal disease in the industrialized world. To gain insight into the genetic susceptibility and pathophysiology of diabetic nephropathy, an appropriate mouse model of diabetic nephropathy would be critical. A large number of mouse models of diabetes have been identified and their kidney disease characterized to various degrees. Perhaps the best characterized and most intensively investigated model is the db/ db mouse. Because this model appears to exhibit the most consistent and robust increase in albuminuria and mesangial matrix expansion, it has been used as a model of progressive diabetic renal disease. In this review, we present the findings from various studies on the renal pathology of the db/ db mouse model of diabetes in the context of human diabetic nephropathy. Furthermore, we discuss shortfalls of assessing functional renal disease in mouse models of diabetic kidney disease.


Antioxidants ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 246
Author(s):  
Daiji Kawanami ◽  
Yuichi Takashi ◽  
Hiroyuki Takahashi ◽  
Ryoko Motonaga ◽  
Makito Tanabe

Diabetic kidney disease (DKD) is the leading cause of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) worldwide. Dipeptidyl peptidase (DPP)-4 inhibitors are widely used in the treatment of patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D). DPP-4 inhibitors reduce glucose levels by inhibiting degradation of incretins. DPP-4 is a ubiquitous protein with exopeptidase activity that exists in cell membrane-bound and soluble forms. It has been shown that an increased renal DPP-4 activity is associated with the development of DKD. A series of clinical and experimental studies showed that DPP-4 inhibitors have beneficial effects on DKD, independent of their glucose-lowering abilities, which are mediated by anti-fibrotic, anti-inflammatory, and anti-oxidative stress properties. In this review article, we highlight the current understanding of the clinical efficacy and the mechanisms underlying renoprotection by DPP-4 inhibitors under diabetic conditions.


Author(s):  
Yuqing Zhang ◽  
De Jin ◽  
Xiaomin Kang ◽  
Rongrong Zhou ◽  
Yuting Sun ◽  
...  

Diabetic kidney disease (DKD), as the most common complication of diabetes mellitus (DM), is the major cause of end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Renal interstitial fibrosis is a crucial metabolic change in the late stage of DKD, which is always considered to be complex and irreversible. In this review, we discuss the pathological mechanisms of diabetic renal fibrosis and discussed some signaling pathways that are closely related to it, such as the TGF-β, MAPK, Wnt/β-catenin, PI3K/Akt, JAK/STAT, and Notch pathways. The cross-talks among these pathways were then discussed to elucidate the complicated cascade behind the tubulointerstitial fibrosis. Finally, we summarized the new drugs with potential therapeutic effects on renal fibrosis and listed related clinical trials. The purpose of this review is to elucidate the mechanisms and related pathways of renal fibrosis in DKD and to provide novel therapeutic intervention insights for clinical research to delay the progression of renal fibrosis.


2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
pp. 1-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruonan Zhai ◽  
Guihua Jian ◽  
Teng Chen ◽  
Ling Xie ◽  
Rui Xue ◽  
...  

This study was aimed at investigating the synergistical protective effects of Astragalus membranaceus (AG) and Panax notoginseng (NG) on podocyte injury in diabetic rats. Diabetes was induced in rats by a single intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin at 55 mg/kg. Diabetic rats were then orally administrated with losartan, AG, NG, and AG plus NG (2 : 1) for 12 weeks. Albuminuria, biochemical markers, renal histopathology, and podocyte number per glomerulus were measured. Podocyte apoptosis was determined by triple immunofluorescence labeling including TUNEL assay, WT1, and DAPI. Renal expression of nephrin, α-dystroglycan, Bax, Bcl-xl, and Nox4 was evaluated by immunohistochemistry, western blot, and RT-PCR. AG plus NG ameliorated albuminuria, renal histopathology, and podocyte foot process effacement to a greater degree than did AG or NG alone. The number of podocytes per glomerulus, as well as renal expression of nephrin, α-dystroglycan, and Bcl-xl, was decreased, while podocyte apoptosis, as well as renal expression of Bax and Nox4, was increased in diabetic rats. All of these abnormalities were partially restored by AG plus NG to a greater degree than did AG or NG alone. In conclusion, AG and NG synergistically ameliorated diabetic podocyte injury partly through upregulation of nephrin, α-dystroglycan, and Bcl-xl, as well as downregulation of Bax and Nox4. These findings might provide a novel treatment combination for DN.


2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (12) ◽  
pp. 4239 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daiji Kawanami ◽  
Yuichi Takashi ◽  
Makito Tanabe

Metformin is a glucose-lowering agent that is used as a first-line therapy for type 2 diabetes (T2D). Based on its various pharmacologic actions, the renoprotective effects of metformin have been extensively studied. A series of experimental studies demonstrated that metformin attenuates diabetic kidney disease (DKD) by suppressing renal inflammation, oxidative stress and fibrosis. In clinical studies, metformin use has been shown to be associated with reduced rates of mortality, cardiovascular disease and progression to end-stage renal disease (ESRD) in T2D patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). However, metformin should be administered with caution to patients with CKD because it may increase the risk of lactic acidosis. In this review article, we summarize our current understanding of the safety and efficacy of metformin for DKD.


2009 ◽  
Vol 297 (4) ◽  
pp. F923-F931 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. J. Kelly ◽  
James L. Burford ◽  
Jesus H. Dominguez

Diabetes is a major epidemic, and diabetic nephropathy is the most common cause of end-stage renal disease. Two critical components of diabetic nephropathy are persistent inflammation and chronic renal ischemia from widespread vasculopathy. Moreover, acute ischemic renal injury is common in diabetes, potentially causing chronic kidney disease or end-stage renal disease. Accordingly, we tested the hypothesis that acute renal ischemia accelerates nephropathy in diabetes by activating proinflammatory pathways. Lean and obese-diabetic ZS rats (F1 hybrids of spontaneously hypertensive heart failure and Zucker fatty diabetic rats) were subjected to bilateral renal ischemia or sham surgery before the onset of proteinuria. The postischemic state in rats with obesity-diabetes was characterized by progressive chronic renal failure, increased proteinuria, and renal expression of proinflammatory mediators. Leukocyte number in obese-diabetic rat kidney was markedly increased for months after ischemia. Intrarenal blood flow velocity was decreased after ischemia in lean control and obese-diabetic rats, although it recovered in lean rats. At 2 mo after ischemia, blood flow velocity decreased further in sham-surgery and postischemia obese-diabetic rats, so that RBC flow velocity was only 39% of control in the obese-diabetic rats after ischemia. In addition, microvascular density remained depressed at 2 mo in kidneys of obese-diabetic rats after ischemia. Abnormal microvascular permeability and increases in interstitial fibrosis and apoptotic renal cell death were also more pronounced after ischemia in obese-diabetic rats. These data support the hypothesis that acute renal ischemia in obesity-diabetes severely aggravates chronic inflammation and vasculopathy, creating a self-perpetuating postischemia inflammatory syndrome, which accelerates renal failure.


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