title: Protective effects of Astragalus saponin I on early stage of diabetic nephropathy in rats.
abstract: Diabetic nephropathy (DN) has become the leading cause of end stage failure, but no renoprotective treatment has been very available for use in DN. Astragalus saponin I (AS I), a component extracted from Astragalus membranaceus BUNGE, was studied in experimental DN induced by administration of streptozotocin in male rats. The early DN rats were treated with 3 doses of AS I for 8 weeks to analyze its efficacy with different parameters. By comparison with vehicle-treated DN rats, the renal hypertrophy, the oxidative stress intensity, and the blood glucose level of DN rats were ameliorated by AS I. Also, the microalbuminuria level, advanced glycated end-products either in serum or in kidney cortex, and the aldose reductase activity were significantly reduced. Furthermore, the expression of transforming growth factor beta1 mRNA in kidney cortex by RT-PCR analysis was markedly declined. Both the relative grade of mesangium hyperplasia by microscopical observation and the thickness of glomerular base membrane by electron microscope measurement were decreased significantly. Therefore, the results suggest that AS I has therapeutic effects on several pharmacological targets in the progress of DN and is a potential drug for prevention of early stage DN.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.
authors.forename: Xiaoxing
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Yin
authors.forename: Yindi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Haiwei
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Xiang
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.forename: Xiaogang
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.forename: Shaojun
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.forename: Haitong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhuo
authors.forename: Jianping
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.forename: Limin
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Qiu
mesh_terms: D000419:Albuminuria / Q000517:prevention & control; D000449:Aldehyde Reductase / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D027883:Astragalus Plant / Q000737:chemistry*; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000187:drug effects; D052160:Benzothiazoles; D015415:Biomarkers; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000378:metabolism; D024141:Collagen Type IV / Q000378:metabolism; D003928:Diabetic Nephropathies / Q000473:pathology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D018450:Disease Progression; D005109:Extracellular Matrix / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology; D005920:Glomerular Mesangium / Q000473:pathology; D007668:Kidney / Q000473:pathology; D007672:Kidney Cortex / Q000473:pathology; D007677:Kidney Function Tests; D008297:Male; D018517:Plant Roots / Q000737:chemistry; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000096:biosynthesis; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012503:Saponins / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D013451:Sulfonic Acids / Q000633:toxicity; D016212:Transforming Growth Factor beta / Q000096:biosynthesis
chemical_list: D052160:Benzothiazoles; D015415:Biomarkers; D001786:Blood Glucose; D024141:Collagen Type IV; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D012503:Saponins; D013451:Sulfonic Acids; D016212:Transforming Growth Factor beta; C002502:2,2'-azino-di-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline)-6-sulfonic acid; D000449:Aldehyde Reductase