Abstract
BackgroundHuang Lian Jie Du Decoction (HLJDD), a very famous traditional Chinese medicinal prescription, has been used for heat dissipation and detoxification in China. This study was aimed to evaluate the reno-protective effects of HLJDD against lupus nephritis (LN) in vivo in MRL/lpr mice.MethodsAnimals were administered orally every day for eight consecutive weeks except the mice of normal group and model group. Organ indexes, serum interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-10 (IL-10), interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) and the anti-double stranded DNA (anti-dsDNA) antibody were tested, respectively. Creatinine (Cr), blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and urine protein were measured for renal function evaluation. The expression of phosphorylated signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (p-STAT 3) in kidney tissue was observed by western blot (WB) and immunohistochemical (IHC) method. Meanwhile, histopathological changes in the renal were studied by hematoxylin-eosin (H&E) staining.ResultsThe mice of HLJDD-treated group exhibited a significant reduced mortality (p < 0.05), serum anti-dsDNA level (p < 0.05) and renal immune complex deposition (p < 0.05), compared with the untreated MRL/lpr mice. In addition, HLJDD treatment remarkably reduced the levels of BUN, Cr, proteinuria (p < 0.01) and the levels of inflammatory cytokines such as IL-6, IL-10 and IFN-γ (p < 0.01). Moreover, HLJDD significantly suppressed the phosphorylations of STAT 3 (p < 0.05) and the renal pathological changes.ConclusionsThe study implied that HLJDD may be a potential agent for the therapy of LN, and the down-regulated p-STAT 3 expression suggesting that it may be one of the LN therapy targets for HLJDD.
Highlights
Huang Lian Jie Du Decoction (HLJDD), a very famous traditional Chinese medicinal prescription, has been used for heat dissipation and detoxification in China
Lupus nephritis (LN), one of the higher frequency complications in Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), is characterized by glomerulonephritis and tubule-interstitial inflammation combined with the depositing of immune complexes in the tissue of renal [5,6,7,8]
General observation and mortality of the experimental mice Hair loss and skin lesions with scab formation are very common in MRL/lpr mice [41]
Summary
Huang Lian Jie Du Decoction (HLJDD), a very famous traditional Chinese medicinal prescription, has been used for heat dissipation and detoxification in China. This study was aimed to evaluate the reno-protective effects of HLJDD against lupus nephritis (LN) in vivo in MRL/lpr mice. Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic multisystem autoimmune disease with the features of antinuclear antibody in serum and pathological changes in multiple organs, such as arthritis, nephritis and rash [1, 2]. Lupus nephritis (LN), one of the higher frequency complications in SLE, is characterized by glomerulonephritis and tubule-interstitial inflammation combined with the depositing of immune complexes in the tissue of renal [5,6,7,8]. The definite strategies for LN treatment remain undefined, and there is still many of patients progress to the end-stage renal disease [8, 10, 11].
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