Tubular Epithelial-myofibroblast Transdifferentiation and the Expression of Hepatocyte Growth Factor in Renal Tissues of the Rat with Experimental Diabetic Nephropathy

Objective To investigate the tubular epithelial-myofibroblast transdifferentiation and the expression of HGF,further to clarify the role of HGF in diabetic nephropathy.Methods The Diabetic Wistar rats were induced by intraceliac injection of STZ.The expression of CK18 was detected by immunohistochemistry,the expressions of α-SMA and HGF were respectively detected by immunohistochemistry and Flow cytometry.In situ hybridization was used to examine HGFmRNA expression,and western blot to c-met expression.Results Compared with those in kidneys of control group,diabetic kidneys showed decreased expression of CK18 and increased expression of α-SMA.The expressions of HGF,c-met and HGFmRNA increased significantly in the kidneys of diabetic rats at week 8,afterward gradually decreased,but were still higher than those in the control at weeks 16 and 24.Conclusions The tubular epithelial cells might undergo phenotypic change and turn to myofibroblasts.