Protective effects of Xuebijing injection (血必净注射液) on kidney in rats with sepsis

Objective To investigate the protective effects of the integrated traditional Chinese and Western medicine Xuebijing injection (血必净注射液) on the kidney in rats with sepsis. Methods Sepsis model was reproduced in rats with cecal ligation and puncture (CLP). Eighty healthy Wistar rats were randomly divided into four groups: control group, sham-operation group, CLP model group, and Xuebijing group. The two latter groups were divided into four groups of 2, 8, 24, 48hour subgroups with 8 rats in each subgroup. Serum levels of creatinine (Cr), blood urea nitrogen (BUN), Na~+, K~+ were measured. β_2microglobulin (β_2MG) was determined by radioimmunoassay, urine level of Cr, Na~+, interleukin6 (IL6) levels in renal tissue, and fractional excretion of sodium (FENa) were determined by enzyme linked immunoadsorbent assay (ELISA). Light microscopy was used to assess the pathological changes in kidney. Results Compared with CLP model group,the level of β_2MG was significantly decreased at 2 hours in Xuebijing group (P0.01). Smilarly, serum BUN content, renal IL6 level were lowered at 8 hours, and serum contents of BUN as well as Cr were also decreased in Xuebijing group than those in model group at 48 hours after CLP (P0.05 or P0.01). Conclusion Xuebijing injection possesses the protective effects on the kidney in rats with sepsis, which may be related with the synthesis and release of IL6.