Qidi Tangshen Prescription （QDTS） Regulate Akt1/HIF-1α/Bcl-xl Signaling Pathway to Improve Podocyte Autophagy in Diabetic Nephropathy
10.13422/j.cnki.syfjx.20240240
- VernacularTitle:芪地糖肾方调控Akt1/HIF-1α/Bcl-xl信号通路提高糖尿病肾病足细胞自噬的机制
- Author:
Fei GAO
1
;
Huidi XIE
2
;
Borui YU
3
;
Ying ZHOU
4
;
Yang SHI
3
;
Xianhui ZHANG
3
;
Hongfang LIU
3
Author Information
1. Beijing Chaoyang District Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine， Beijing 100020， China
2. First Medical Center of Chinese PLA General Hospital， Beijing 100853， China
3. Dongzhimen Hospital， Beijing University of Chinese Medicine， Beijing 100700， China
4. Beijing Puren Hospital， Beijing 100062， China
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords:
Qidi Tangshen prescription;
diabetic nephropathy;
podocyte damage;
autophagy;
signaling pathway;
molecular mechanism
- From:
Chinese Journal of Experimental Traditional Medical Formulae
2024;30(15):90-97
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
ObjectiveTo explore the mechanism of Qidi Tangshen prescription （QDTS） in alleviating podocyte injury and reducing urinary protein in diabetic nephropathy （DN）. MethodUsing network pharmacology methods， we collected the chemical components and targets of QDTS， as well as the targets related to DN. Subsequently， we constructed a "drug-ingredient-target-disease" network for QDTS in the treatment of DN to systematically elucidate the mechanism. The db/db mice were assigned into the model， QDTS （3.34 g·kg-1）， and losartan capsules （10.29 mg·kg-1） groups， and db/m mice served as the normal group. Each group consisted of 8 mice， and they underwent continuous intervention for 8 weeks. After the last administration， mice were euthanized， and the urinary albumin excretion rate （UAER） and renal pathological changes were measured and observed. The expression levels of protein kinase B1 （Akt1）， hypoxia-inducible factor-1 alpha （HIF-1α）， phosphorylated B-cell lymphoma-extra-large （p-Bcl-xl）， as well as autophagy-related indicators microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3 （LC3）， ubiquitin-binding protein p62 （p62）， and autophagy-related gene 6 homolog （Beclin1）， were determined. Furthermore， mouse podocytes were divided into the normal glucose （5.5 mmol·L-1）， high glucose （35 mmol·L-1）， DMSO （35 mmol·L-1 glucose+200 mg·L-1 DMSO）， and QDTS （35 mmol·L-1 glucose+200 mg·L-1 QDTS freeze-dried powder） groups. After 48 h of intervention， the protein levels of Akt1， HIF-1α， p-Bcl-xl， LC3， p62， and Beclin1 in podocytes were measured. ResultQDTS had 34 active components acting on 143 targets in the treatment of DN， and 55 targets were related to autophagy， in which Akt1， HIF-1α， and Bcl-xl were the key targets. Compared with the normal group， mice in the model group exhibited significantly increased UAER， glomerular hypertrophy， deposition of blue collagen fibers， thickening of the glomerular basement membrane， and noticeable fusion of podocyte foot processes in some segments. Furthermore， the modeling up-regulated the protein levels of p-Akt1， HIF-1α， and p62 and down-regulating the protein levels of p-Bcl-xl， LC3， and Beclin1 in the renal tissue （P<0.05）. Compared with the model group， QDTS and losartan decreased UAER （P<0.05） and alleviated the pathological damage in the renal tissue. Moreover， QDTS and losartan down-regulated the protein levels of p-Akt1， HIF-1α， and p62 and up-regulated the protein levels of p-Bcl-xl， LC3， and Beclin1 in the renal tissue （P<0.05）. In comparison to the normal glucose group， the high glucose group displayed up-regulated protein levels of p-Akt1， HIF-1α， and p62 and down-regulated protein levels of p-Bcl-xl， LC3， and Beclin1 in podocytes （P<0.05）. Compared with the high glucose group， QDTS down-regulated the protein levels of p-Akt1， HIF-1α， and p62 and up-regulated the protein levels of p-Bcl-xl， LC3， and Beclin1 in podocytes （P<0.05）. ConclusionQDTS alleviates podocyte damage and reduced urinary protein in DN by regulating the Akt1/HIF-1α/Bcl-xl signaling pathway， thereby enhancing podocyte autophagy.
