Mechanistic of Modified Chunzetang in Treating Spinal Cord Injury-induced Urinary Retention in Rats Based on JNK/p38 MAPK Signaling Pathway
10.13422/j.cnki.syfjx.20240439
- VernacularTitle:基于JNK/p38 MAPK信号通路探讨加味春泽汤治疗脊髓损伤尿潴留大鼠的机制
- Author:
Yupu WANG
1
;
Yanjie LI
2
;
Hewei QIN
2
;
Haoyuan LIU
2
Author Information
1. Rehabilitation Medicine School of Henan University of Chinese Medicine, Zhengzhou 450008,China
2. The Second Affiliated Hospital of Henan University of Chinese Medicine, Zhengzhou 450053, China
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords:
modified Chunzetang;
spinal cord injury-induced urinary retention;
c-Jun N-terminal kinase/p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (JNK/p38 MAPK) signaling pathway;
apoptosis of cells
- From:
Chinese Journal of Experimental Traditional Medical Formulae
2024;30(19):30-38
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
ObjectiveTo investigate the effects of modified Chunzetang on urinary retention in rats with spinal cord injury (SCI) and the c-Jun N-terminal kinase/p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (JNK/p38 MAPK) signaling pathway. MethodBefore modeling, 10 of the 70 female SD rats were randomly selected to assign to the blank group, and 10 to the sham group. The remaining 50 rats were used to prepare a SCI-induced urinary retention model using the spinal cord transection method. The model rats were randomly divided into model group, low-dose modified Chunzetang group, high-dose modified Chunzetang group, and inhibitor group. After modeling, the blank group, sham group, and inhibitor group were given 2 mL of saline by gavage. The high-dose and low-dose groups of modified Chunzetang were given modified Chunzetang at 28.8 g·kg-1 and 14.4 g·kg-1 by gavage, respectively. The inhibitor group was injected intraperitoneally with the JNK inhibitor SP600125 twice a week at a dose of 15 mg·kg-1. All rats were gavaged for a total of 28 days. Urodynamic and bladder muscle tension tests were conducted to evaluate bladder function. Hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining was performed to observe the morphology of bladder smooth muscle tissue. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to measure the levels of JNK, phosphorylated (p)-p38 MAPK, B cell lymphoma-2 (Bcl-2), and cysteinyl aspartate-specific proteinase-3 (Caspase-3). Western blot was used to detect the expression levels of p-JNK, p-p38 MAPK, ETS-like protein-1 (ELK-1), and activator protein-1 (AP1) in the detrusor muscle. Immunofluorescence was used to detect the expression levels of p-JNK, p-p38 MAPK, and AP1. Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP-biotin nick end labeling (TUNEL) assay was conducted to measure cell apoptosis. ResultCompared with blank group and sham group, the model group showed a significant increase in maximum bladder capacity and bladder compliance, and a significant decrease in leak point pressure. The minimum contraction force was increased, and the contraction frequency was significantly decreased (P<0.01). The structure of bladder smooth muscle was disordered, with a large number of vacuolar cells, tissue edema, mononuclear cell infiltration, obvious hemorrhage, and a trend towards fibrosis in connective tissue. TUNEL positive cells increased significantly. The protein expression levels of p-JNK, p-p38 MAPK, AP1, and ELK-1 were significantly increased (P<0.01). Compared with model group, all intervention groups showed significant improvement in urodynamic and bladder muscle contraction tests. In the low-dose modified Chunzetang group, the levels of p-p38 MAPK and Caspase-3 was decreased (P<0.05,P<0.01). The levels of JNK, p-p38 MAPK and Caspase-3 in the high-dose group were significantly decreased (P<0.01), and the level of Bcl-2 was significantly increased (P<0.01). The expression levels of p-JNK, p-p38 MAPK, and AP1 proteins were significantly reduced (P<0.01), and ELK-1 protein expression was decreased (P<0.05). The positive rate of p-JNK and AP1 receptors was significantly decreased (P<0.01). The positive cell rate was significantly decreased (P<0.01). The high-dose modified Chunzetang group was positioned between the low-dose group and the inhibitor group, with no significant difference compared to the inhibitor group. ConclusionModified Chunzetang can improve urinary retention in SCI and enhance the contraction force of bladder smooth muscle. This effect is related to the inhibition of the JNK/p38 MAPK signaling pathway activation, thereby reducing apoptosis of bladder smooth muscle cells.