Hirudo Lyophilized Powder Ameliorates Renal Injury in Diabetic Rats by Suppressing Oxidative Stress and Inflammation

Abstract

As diabetic nephropathy (DN) is one of the most common and destructive microvascular complications of diabetes mellitus, the goal of this study, therefore, was to investigate the renal protective effect and latent mechanisms of Hirudo lyophilized powder on diabetic rats. In this study, all rats were randomly assigned into the control group and diabetic group. The rats of diabetic group were injected with low-dose STZ (35 mg/kg) intraperitoneal plus high-fat diet to induce diabetes. Then, the successful diabetic model rats were weighed and randomly assigned into four groups: (1) diabetic model group (DM group); (2) Hirudo lyophilized powder 0.3 g/kg treatment group (SL group); (3) Hirudo lyophilized powder 0.6 g/kg treatment group (SM group); (4) Hirudo lyophilized powder 1.2 g/kg treatment group (SH group). Their fasting blood glucoses (FBG) were measured every 4 weeks. After treatment with Hirudo lyophilized powder at a corresponding dose once a day for 16 weeks, their metabolic and biochemical as well as oxidative stress parameters were tested, and the kidney weight (KW)/body weight (BW) was calculated. The renal tissues were used for histological, mRNA, and protein expression analysis. The results showed that Hirudo lyophilized powder could protect against the structural damages and functional changes of diabetic renal tissue by inhibiting oxidative stress, inflammation, and fibrosis. Furthermore, it was found in the further research that inhibiting the NOX4 expression and JAK2/STAT1/STAT3 pathway activation might be the underlying mechanisms. Collectively, Hirudo lyophilized powder might be a promising therapeutic agent for the treatment of DN.

The influence of the water-salt extract of the medicinal leech Hirudo verbana Carena, 1820 on the general course of embryogenesis in rats after intraperitoneal administration

“…It should be noted that in the experimental groups, an increase in body weight and length was observed in both newborns and 15-day-old rats in comparison with the control groups Table 3 (p <0.05). An increase in body weight in early post-embryonic ontogeny after the hirudological influence was observed in our previous works and the results of other authors (Aminov et al, 2022;Davoodi et al, 2021;Amani et al, 2021;Yang et al, 2021;Trenholme et al , 2021) as a morphogenetic effect of the substances of medicinal leeches. During the external examination, no developmental abnormalities were noted in either of the groups.…”

“…Nowadays preference is given to natural substances that have virtually no side effects or contraindications. These include substances obtained from medicinal leeches that have a wide range of therapeutic effects (Aminov et al, 2022;Davoodi et al, 2021;Amani et al, 2021;Yang et al, 2021;Aminov et al, 2021). These substances have shown effectiveness in the prevention and treatment of a significant number of diseases in animals and humans (Fattakhov et al, 2021;Trenholme et al, 2021;Amani et al, 2021;Afroz et al, 2020;Akalın et al, 2020;Curcio et al, 2020).…”

“…These substances have shown effectiveness in the prevention and treatment of a significant number of diseases in animals and humans (Fattakhov et al, 2021;Trenholme et al, 2021;Amani et al, 2021;Afroz et al, 2020;Akalın et al, 2020;Curcio et al, 2020). For example, in veterinary medicine and agriculture: for the treatment of mastitis, vascular diseases, diabetic nephropathy, wound healing, hematomas, inflammation, fever, ataxia, arthritis, myositis, eczema, abscesses, neuritis, osteoarthritis, and others (Aminov, 2022;Davoodi et al, 2021;Amani et al, 2021;Yang et al, 2021;Trenholme et al, 2021). In medical practice: for leiomyoma of the skin, psoriasis, heart failure, hypertension, infectious myocarditis, angina pectoris, glaucoma, acute sensorineural deafness, acute and chronic diseases of the middle and inner ear, radiculopathies, arthritis, osteochondrosis, arthrosis, cerebrovascular diseases, endometriosis, uterine myoma, chronic inflammation of the appendages, nephritis, diabetic foot, diabetes, in the treatment of thrombophlebitis, boils in goats, stomatitis, pulpitis and many others (Aminov, 2022;Huang et al, 2021;Akalın et al, 2020;Rehman , 2020;Sudhadevi et al, 2020;Afroz et al, 2020).…”

Comparative efficacy and safety of traditional Chinese medicine injections in patients with transient ischemic attack: A systematic review and network meta-analysis

“…A NMA [ 90 ] examining proprietary Chinese medicines derived from leeches for atherosclerosis treatment revealed that these medicines, whether used with or without statins, demonstrated superior efficacy in reducing intima-media thickness and decreasing plaque area and count in comparison to oral statins alone. Of particular significance, both Dilong and leeches exhibit lipid-lowering, antithrombotic, anticoagulant, and anti-inflammatory effects [ 91 – 94 ]. These combined effects could potentially contribute to achieving the highest overall efficacy rate of Shuxuetong injection in TIA treatment while effectively reducing the likelihood of cerebral infarction progression.…”

Exploration of the mechanisms underlying the beneficial effect of Luo Tong formula on retinal function in diabetic rats via the “gut microbiota–inflammation–retina” axis

“…LTF, which consists of Radix Rhei Et Rhizome, Persicae Semen, Panax notoginseng (Burk.) F. H. Chen Ex C. Chow, and Hirudo has been used to treat diabetic secondary symptoms, such as DR, diabetic nephropathy, diabetic encephalopathy, and diabetic cardiomyopathy [16][17][18][19]. Previous studies from our lab have shown that LTF ameliorates DR via certain mechanisms, involving the miR-200b and the p38 MAPK/NF-κB pathway [13,14].…”