No abstract

Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is the leading cause of end-stage failure of the kidney, but the efficacy of currently available strategies for the prevention of DN remains unsatisfactory. In this study, we investigated the effects of Danggui Buxue Tang (DBT), a Chinese herbal decoction prepared from Radix Astragali (RA) and Radix Angelicae sinensis (RAS), on high glucose-induced proliferation and expression of laminin, type IV collagen (collagen IV) and fibronectin in glomerular mesangial cells (GMCs). The cell proliferation was determined by MTT assay, and the expression of collagen IV, laminin and fibronectin in GMCs was detected by ELISA assay. It was shown that high glucose clearly induced the proliferation of GMCs and increased the release of collagen IV, laminin and fibronectin. Treatment with RA, RAS and DBT inhibited cell proliferation and the expression of collagen IV, laminin and fibronectin induced by high glucose, with DBT, especially at the highest concentration (DBT20), exhibiting a stronger effect than RA and RAS alone. Thus, it is concluded that DBT inhibits increased cell proliferation and the expression of major extracellular matrix proteins that are induced by high glucose, indicating its value for prophylaxis and therapy of DN at the early stages.

Compound Opening Arrow Mixture (COAM) has demonstrated therapeutic effects in patients with breast cancer. We explored the underlying molecular mechanisms of COAM using a mouse model of breast cancer. Luciferase-labeled 4T1-Luc2 cells were inoculated into the breast pad of BALB/c-nu mice, which were divided into model group (saline), COAM (6 g/ml high-dose, 3 g/ml medium-dose, and 1.5 g/ml low-dose) groups, and low-molecular-weight heparin (LMWH, 1500 U/Kg) group. The number and distribution of 4T1-luc2 tumors were measured by an in vivo imaging system. Tumor cell apoptosis was measured through TUNEL and quantitating the expression of Caspase-3 mRNA and protein. Compared with the model group, in vivo tumor growth was lower in the LMWH- and COAM-treated groups. Tumor apoptosis was time-dependent and dose-dependent, as shown by a higher TUNEL apoptotic index and higher Caspase-3 mRNA and Caspase-3/cleaved-Caspase-3 proteins levels on the 14th day than the 7th day. The COAM high-dose group had the highest apoptotic index and the most activation of Caspase-3. Collectively, COAM significantly inhibits the growth of 4T1-luc2 breast cancer in mice and induces tumor apoptosis by activating Caspase-3, which provides a preliminary explanation of therapeutic effects of COAM.

No abstract