The effect of losartan on urinary TGFβ_1 excretion in type 2 diabetic nephropathy

Objective To observe the situation of urinary TGFβ1 excretion and the antifibrosis effect of Losartan in Type 2 diabetic nephropathy (DN) patients.Methods 33 type 2 DN patients were recruited. 24-hour fresh urine samples of patients were collected to measure urinary protein,creatinine excretion and urinary TGFβ1 excretion before and after treatment.Urinary TGFβ1 was determined by ELISA assay.Urine samples of 20 volunteers were measured as controls.Results Compared with the control group,the total Urinary TGFβ1 excretion was significantly increased(P0.01).The excretion of urinary TGFβ1 increased with the aggravation of glomerular filtration.The TGFβ1 levels decreased obviously after administration of Losartan.Correlation between urinary TGF-β1 levels and proteinuria was found significantly (P0.01).Conclusions Renal fibrosis of type 2 DN patients is aggravated with the damage of renal function.Losartan has a significant antifibrosis effect on DN patients through the reduction of urinary TGF-β1 excretion.We speculate that the reduction of urinary TGFβ1 excretion may be an earlier event of remission of kidney disease than the alteration of proteinuria