Effect of total glucosides of paeony on the expression of Nephrin and its mechanism in the kidney of diabetic rats

Aim To investigate the effect of total glucosides of paeony(TGP)on the expression of Nephrin and its mechanism in the kidney of diabetic rats.Methods Diabetes was induced with streptozotocin,and TGP(50,100,200 mg·kg-1·d-1)was orally administered once a day for 8 wk.Blood glucose,24 hours urinary albumin excretion rate(AER)were measured.The expression of Nephrin,tumor necrosis factor-a(TNF-a)and NF-κB-p65 protein was determined by immunoinfluorescence or Western blot.Results Elevated AER was markedly attenuated by TGP treatment.(P0.05).There was a finely dotted linear epithelial staining of Nephrin in control group glomeruli.In contrast,the staining of glomeruli from untreated diabetic rats was attenuated,more dispersed and clustered,this diabetic-induced loss of glomerular Nephrin expression was largly prevented in TGP-treated diabetic rats.Western blot analysis showed that the expression of Nephrin protein was reduced in the kidney of diabetic rats,but significantly increased with TGP(P0.01,P0.05).The expression of TNF-a and NF-κB-p65 protein in the kidney was significantly increased in diabetic rats,which were all significantly inhibited by TGP treatment(P0.01).Conclusions TGP can decrease AER in diabetic rats.The mechanism may be at least partly correlated with upregulation of the expression of Nephrin in the kidney.