Background: To study the protective effect of berberine (BBR) on cisplatin-induced acute kidney injury (AKI) and its effect on mitophagy.Methods: (I) Male C57BL/6 mice aged 6-8 weeks were randomly divided into control group (saline), cisplatin group (cisplatin), and cisplatin + BBR (5, 10 mg/kg) groups. In the cisplatin group and BBR groups, mice were injected intraperitoneally with 15 mg/kg of cisplatin. Mice in BBR groups were given BBR at 72, 48, 24, 0.5 h before and 24, 48 h after cisplatin injection. Mice were sacrificed 72 h after cisplatin injection, and blood were collected for detecting serum creatinine (SCr) and blood urea nitrogen (BUN) levels. Kidneys were collected for detecting protein expression levels of Kidney injury molecule 1 (KIM-1), LC3 II/LC3 I, p62, PINK 1, Parkin in the renal tissue by Western blotting. The pathological changes in renal tissues were observed using periodic acid-Schiff (PAS) staining. (II) Renal tubular epithelial cells (RTECs) were pretreated with different concentrations (1, 2, and 4 μM) of BBR, and then incubated with cisplatin. Changes in autophagy proteins LC3 II/LC3 I, p62, PINK 1, and Parkin were detected by Western blotting, and changes in cellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) and mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) were detected by flow cytometry. Results: (I) Mice treated with BBR at dosage of 5 and 10 mg/kg for 6 days showed significant reduction in SCr and BUN compared to that in mice treated with cisplatin. PAS staining and immunohistochemistry showed that BBR ameliorated cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity and reduced cisplatin-induced increase in protein expression levels of KIM-1. Compared to cisplatin-treated mice, the mice treated with BBR showed increased LC3 II/LC3 I, PINK 1, and Parkin, and decreased p62 protein expression. (II) Compared to cisplatin-incubated RTECs, cells pretreated with BBR for 24 h exhibited increased protein expressions of LC3 II/LC3 I, PINK1, and Parkin and decreased protein expression of p62. BBR reversed cellular ROS and cell MMP level induced by cisplatin.Conclusions: BBR plays a protective role in cisplatin-induced AKI by up-regulating mitophagy in RTECs.

No abstract

Background: Triptolide (PG490), as a triterpene dicyclic oxide has been reported to increase the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and nitric oxide (NO) and induce apoptosis of RAW 264.7 cells in a dose-dependent manner. The activity of death NETs plays an important role in anti-bacterial processes in the human body. This study aimed to investigate the effect of triptolide (PG490) on neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) formation.Methods: After isolating peripheral blood neutrophils from healthy volunteers, cells were incubated with PG490 to observe and detect the level of NETs and detect the level of reactive oxygen species (ROS). The cells were cultured, stained and analyzed by fluorescence microscopy.Results: Compared with the 12-myristate-13-acetate (PMA) group, the average fluorescence intensity of SYTOX Green in the PG490 + PMA group, as detected by a multifunctional microplate reader, was significantly decreased. Intracellular ROS were labeled by fluorescence, with fluorescence intensity then measured by multifunctional microplate reader and flow cytometry. The results showed that compared with the control group, the fluorescence intensity of the PMA group was significantly increased, while there was no significant difference between PMA group and PG490 + PMA group Conclusions: The production of NETs is inhibited by PG490 in vitro, which is not associated with the level of cellular ROS. This suggests that PG490in Tripterygium wilfordii Hook F can suppress related diseases.

Background: Although cisplatin (DDP) is an important clinical anti-tumor drug, its use is limited by its nephrotoxicity. How to avoid the renal injury incurred by platinum drugs and improve the clinical efficiency of platinum drugs use has become an urgent clinical problem. Previous studies have verified that Chinese medicine has definite effects on acute kidney injury (AKI). Yishen Xiezhuo formula (YSXZ) is a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) compound which is an effective clinical drug for AKI, but its mechanism remains unclear. Methods: In our research, an AKI model was induced by DDP in human renal tubular epithelial cell (HKC) lines in the in vitro study. The mechanism of the YSXZ on cell senescence was analyzed by Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8), senescence-associated β-galactosidase (SA-β-Gal) staining, western blot, flow cytometry, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Network pharmacology was used to analyze the role of YSXZ against AKI. Results: Compared with the control group, the cells in the DDP intervention group were significantly senescent. Compared with DDP group, YSXZ decreased the number of SA-β-Gal-positive senescence cells, down regulated the expression of senescence-related proteins, reduced the release of senescencerelated secreted phenotypic factors, and reversed the phenomenon of cell cycle S-phase arrest. Network pharmacology and experimental studies showed that the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway played a central role. Conclusions: Our present results suggested that YSXZ ameliorated the development of DDP-induced AKI by attenuating renal tubular epithelial cell (RTEC) senescence via alleviating the activation of MAPK pathway.

No abstract