Artesunate ameliorates high glucose-induced rat glomerular mesangial cell injury by suppressing the TLR4/NF-κB/NLRP3 inflammasome pathway.

Inflammatory response is important for the development and progression of diabetic nephropathy (DN). Artesunate (ART), an antimalarial drug, possesses anti-inflammatory effect and exhibits protective effect on chronic kidney diseases. However, the effect of ART on DN is unknown. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect and the molecular mechanism of ART on DN in an in vitro model. The rat mesangial cell line, HBZY-1, was induced by high glucose (HG; 30 mM d-glucose) in the presence or absence of ART (15 and 30 μg/ml) and incubated for 24 h. We found that HG induced the proliferation of HBZY-1 cells, while treatment with ART inhibited the cell proliferation. Treatment with ART inhibited HG-induced inflammatory cytokines production and expression of extracellular matrix (ECM). Besides, HG induced reactive oxygen species (ROS) and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels, and inhibited the superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity of HBZY-1 cells, and the effects were attenuated by ART treatment. ART decreased HG-induced the expression levels of toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4), myeloid differentiation primary response gene 88 (MyD88), nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) p-p65, and nod-like receptor protein 3 (NLRP3). Inhibition of the TLR4/NF-κB pathway suppressed NLRP3 inflammasome in HBZY-1 cells. In conclusion, ART exhibited protective effect on HG-induced HBZY-1 cells by inhibiting the inflammatory response, oxidative stress and ECM accumulation. The TLR4/NF-κB/NLRP3 inflammasome pathway was involved in the protective effect of ART. The results suggested that ART might be a potential therapy agent for the DN treatment.

Sun Z ，Ma Y ，Chen F ，Wang S ，Chen B ，Shi J ... -  《-》

Salidroside alleviates high glucose-induced oxidative stress and extracellular matrix accumulation in rat glomerular mesangial cells by the TXNIP-NLRP3 inflammasome pathway.

Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is a metabolic disease characterized by mesangial cell proliferation and extracellular matrix (ECM) accumulation. Salidroside (SAL) is the major ingredient in Rhodiola rosea and possesses beneficial effects on DN. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of SAL on high glucose (HG)-induced oxidative stress and ECM accumulation and the underlying mechanism. Rat glomerular mesangial cells HBZY-1 were induced by high glucose (HG) in the presence or absence of SAL. Cell proliferation was measured by CCK-8 assay. The reactive oxygen species (ROS) level, malondialdehyde (MDA) level and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity were detected to evaluate oxidative stress. The expression levels of ECM proteins including fibronectin (FN) and type IV collagen (Coll IV) were detected by qRT-PCR and western blot analysis. The expressions of thioredoxin-interacting protein (TXNIP), nod-like receptor protein 3 (NLRP3), apoptosis-associated speck-like protein containing CARD (ASC), and caspase-1 were assessed by western blot. Si-TXNIP or si-NC was transfected into HBZY-1 cells to inhibit TXNIP-NLRP3 inflammasome pathway. The results showed that SAL treatment alleviated HG-induced cell proliferation. SAL reduced the levels of ROS and MDA, and induced the SOD activity. Besides, the mRNA and protein expressions of FN and Coll IV were decreased by SAL. The expression levels of TXNIP, NLRP3, ASC, and caspase-1 were reduced in the SAL treated cells. In addition, TXNIP knockdown inhibited TXNIP-NLRP3 inflammasome activation and suppressed HG-induced cell proliferation, oxidative stress, and ECM accumulation. In conclusion, SAL alleviated HG-induced oxidative stress and ECM accumulation in rat glomerular mesangial cells by the TXNIP-NLRP3 inflammasome pathway.

Wang S ，Zhao X ，Yang S ，Chen B ，Shi J ... -  《-》

Liquiritigenin attenuates high glucose-induced mesangial matrix accumulation, oxidative stress, and inflammation by suppression of the NF-κB and NLRP3 inflammasome pathways.

Oxidative stress, inflammation, and hyperglycemia are considered to play crucial roles in the pathogenesis and progression of diabetic nephropathy (DN). Liquiritigenin, one of the flavonoid compounds, has been shown to possess anti-inflammatory, anti-hyperlipidemic, and anti-oxidative properties. Our study aimed to explore the effects of liquiritigenin on high glucose (HG)-induced extracellular matrix (ECM) accumulation, oxidative stress and inflammatory response and delineate the underlying mechanism. In our study, glomerular mesangial cells (HBZY-1) were co-treated with various doses of liquiritigenin and HG. We found that HG, but not normal glucose or mannitol, promoted the proliferation of HBZY-1 cells, which was suppressed by liquiritigenin. Liquiritigenin inhibited HG-induced ECM accumulation in HBZY-1 cells by reducing the expressions and production of collagen IV (Col IV) and fibronectin (FN). Moreover, liquiritigenin attenuated HG-induced oxidative stress, as evidenced by the decreased MDA content and NADPH oxidase 4 (NOX4) expression, and the increased SOD activity in HBZY-1 cells. Liquiritigenin suppressed HG-induced inflammatory response, as demonstrated by the reduced expressions and secretion of interleukin (IL)-6 and IL-1β in HBZY-1 cells. Furthermore, we found that liquiritigenin inhibited HG-induced activation the nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) and nod-like receptor protein 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome pathways. In conclusion, these results demonstrated that liquiritigenin attenuated HG-induced ECM accumulation, oxidative stress, and inflammation by suppression of the NF-κB and NLRP3 inflammasome pathways, suggesting that liquiritigenin might be a promising therapeutic agent for preventing the development of DN.

Zhu X ，Shi J ，Li H 《-》

Hydrogen-Rich Saline Attenuated Subarachnoid Hemorrhage-Induced Early Brain Injury in Rats by Suppressing Inflammatory Response: Possible Involvement of NF-κB Pathway and NLRP3 Inflammasome.

Shao A ，Wu H ，Hong Y ，Tu S ，Sun X ，Wu Q ，Zhao Q ，Zhang J ，Sheng J ... -  《-》

Protective effect of ginsenoside metabolite compound K against diabetic nephropathy by inhibiting NLRP3 inflammasome activation and NF-κB/p38 signaling pathway in high-fat diet/streptozotocin-induced diabetic mice.

Though the antidiabetic effect of ginsenoside compound K (CK) has been well studied, the effect of CK on diabetic nephropathy (DN) is not clear. Whether CK would have a protective effect against DN and it could exert the protective effect by inhibiting the oxidative stress, NLRP3 inflammasome and NF-κB/p38 signaling pathway were investigated in this study. Here, the HFD (high fat diet)/STZ (streptozotocin)-induced DN mice model was established to assess the CK effect in vivo. Parallel experiments uncovering the molecular mechanism by which CK prevents from DN was performed in rat glomerular mesangial cell line HBZY-1 exposed to high glucose. CK (10, 20, 40 mg/kg/day) were intragastrically administered for 8 weeks, the general status, biochemical parameters, renal pathological changes and oxidative stress-parameters were observed, and the NLRP3 inflammasome and NF-κB/p38 signaling pathway were evaluated. The results showed that the elevated fasting blood glucose, serum creatinine, blood urea nitrogen and 24-hour urine protein of the DN mice were significantly decreased, and the proliferation of glomerular mesangial matrix was alleviated by CK. In addition, the generation of ROS in the kidney was significantly decreased, and the expression of Nox1 and Nox4 proteins were down-regulated. Further, the expression of NLRP3 inflammasome components (NLRP3, ASC and Caspase-1) and the inflammatory cytokines IL-1β and IL-18 were also significantly down-regulated in vivo and in vitro. The phosphorylation of renal p38 MAPK was also inhibited by CK. MCC950 (an inhibitor of NLRP3 inflammasome) and VX-765 (a Caspase-1 Inhibitor) showed significant interaction with CK on the decrease of IL-1β concentration in HBZY-1 cells. In conclusion, our study provided evidence that the protective effect of CK on diabetes-induced renal injury is associated with down-regulating the expression of NADHP oxidase, and inhibition of ROS-mediated activation of NLRP3 inflammasome and NF-κB/p38 signaling pathway, suggesting its therapeutic implication for renal inflammation.

Song W ，Wei L ，Du Y ，Wang Y ，Jiang S ... -  《-》