Aim of the study
The purpose of the present study was to explore the therapeutic effect of SQJTG on DN through both bioinformatics analysis and in vivo experiments.
Conclusions
SQJTG exerts a kidney protective effect in DN mice via modulating TNF signaling pathways, and it has promising applications for the treatment of DN.
Results
Among the 338 compounds ascertained by SQJTG, there were 789 related targets as well. Moreover, 1,221 DN-related targets were predicted and 20 core targets were screened by the PPI analyses. According to GO and KEGG pathway analysis, SQJTG may affect DN via the TNF pathway. For the in vivo experiments, renal histomorphological examinations demonstrated that SQJTG treatment significantly ameliorated STZ-induced kidney damage and had a dosage dependence. Meanwhile, mice with DN were found to have dramatic increases in IL-1, TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-12, but markedly decreased after administration of SQJTG. In addition, the protein levels of TNF signaling molecules, like p-P65, p-JNK, and p-p38, showed significantly elevated in kidney tissues of DN mice and attenuated after SQJTG treatment. Conclusions: SQJTG exerts a kidney protective effect in DN mice via modulating TNF signaling pathways, and it has promising applications for the treatment of DN.