title: Danshen injection ameliorates STZ-induced diabetic nephropathy in association with suppression of oxidative stress, pro-inflammatory factors and fibrosis.
abstract: Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is one of the most frequent complications in diabetes mellitus. This study aimed to explore whether Danshen injection is protective to renal tissue in diabetes. Intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin (STZ) (60mg/kg) was used to induce diabetes in rats. Some STZ-induced diabetic rats were also intraperitoneally injected with Danshen solution at two different dosages (0.5 or 1ml/kg/day) for 6weeks. Our results showed that serum creatinine (sCr) and blood urea nitrogen were significantly increased in STZ-induced diabetic rats, which was alleviated upon Danshen injection. Danshen injection was also found to ameliorate hypertrophy and dilatation of renal tubule and glomeruli possibly by decreasing the expression of collagen and fibronectin in association with suppression of TGF-β1/Smad pathway. Further investigation revealed that Danshen injection could increase the activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD), and reduce reactive oxygen species (ROS) and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels in STZ-induced diabetic rats, indicating suppression of oxidative stress. In addition, we also found that Danshen injection could suppress IκB/NF-κB signaling pathway and reduce the level of a number of pro-inflammatory factors, including tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) in the diabetic renal tissue, indicating suppression of inflammation. In conclusion, our results demonstrated that Danshen injection may rescue STZ-induced diabetic nephropathy, possibly via suppressing the oxidative stress, inflammatory responses and fibrosis progression.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Basic Medicine, Zhejiang Medical College, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310053, PR China.
authors.forename: Linhao
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Research and Development Center of Chiatai Qingchunbao, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310000, PR China.
authors.forename: Peiqiang
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Laboratorial Examination, Hangzhou Hai Qin Sanatorium, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310002, PR China.
authors.forename: Yanli
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Bi
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Faculty of Basic Medicine, Zhejiang Medical College, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310053, PR China.
authors.forename: Jian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Molecular Pharmacology, Department of Pharmacology, School of Pharmacy, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, Sichuan 646000, PR China.
authors.forename: Zhangang
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Xiao
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310058, PR China.
authors.forename: Xiaoming
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Basic Medicine, Zhejiang Medical College, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310053, PR China. Electronic address: quanquan7869@sohu.com.
authors.forename: Zheng
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003404:Creatinine / Q000097:blood; D016207:Cytokines / Q000378:metabolism; D003921:Diabetes Mellitus, Experimental / Q000188:drug therapy*; D003928:Diabetic Nephropathies / Q000188:drug therapy*; D005355:Fibrosis; D018836:Inflammation Mediators / Q000378:metabolism; D007668:Kidney / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D016328:NF-kappa B / Q000378:metabolism; D018384:Oxidative Stress / Q000187:drug effects; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D027561:Salvia miltiorrhiza / Q000276:immunology*; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000187:drug effects; D051785:Smad Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D013482:Superoxide Dismutase / Q000378:metabolism; D053773:Transforming Growth Factor beta1 / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents; D016207:Cytokines; D018836:Inflammation Mediators; D016328:NF-kappa B; D010936:Plant Extracts; D051785:Smad Proteins; D053773:Transforming Growth Factor beta1; D003404:Creatinine; D013482:Superoxide Dismutase
keywords: Danshen injection; Diabetic nephropathy; Inflammation; Oxidative stress; Renal function