Effect of free fatty acids on expression and secretion of extracellular matrix in rat mesangial cells

Objective To investigate the effects of Free fatty acids (FFAs) on extracellular matrix(ECM) mRNA expression and secretion.Methods Rat glomerular mesangial cells(HBZY-1 cells) were cultured in vitro and stimulated with OA in different concentration.The expression of collagen Ⅳ(Col Ⅳ) and fibronectin (FN) and transforming growth factor-beta1(TGF-β_1) mRNA were measured by semi-quantitative RT-PCR.The levels of Col Ⅳ and FN in cultured supernatant were determined by ELISA.Results The mRNA expression of Col Ⅳ, FN and TGF-β_1 of 25、100、400 μmol/L stimulated OA groups were 0.94±0.17、1.16±0.15、1.28±0.19 and 0.82±0.11、0.97±0.07、1.09±0.08 and 1.15± 0.07、1.24±0.06、1.36±0.05 respectively , which increased significantly compared with their control group(0.73±0.16、0.53±0.09、 0.96±0.11 P0.01).The secretion levels of Col Ⅳ and FN of 25、100、400 μmol/L OA stimulated groups were(59.6±6.4)、(63.1±6.7)、(72.4 ±8.6)and(106.1±6.4)、 (121.0± 7.1)、(137.5 ±9.7) ng/ml respectively, which also increased significantly compared with the control group( 52.3± 7.2)、(93.2±8.7) ng/ml P0.01).Conclusion FFAs increase extracellular matrix mRNA expression and secretion.They may play a role in glomeruloscerosis(GS).