Conclusion
RH can inhibit cellular proliferation and downregulate the expression of ECM under the circumstance of HG. The mechanism of growth suppression may be due to cell cycle arrest at G1 phase, induction of cell apoptosis, and upregulation of apoptotic mediators bax and caspase-3. Summary: Rhein (RH) has an inhibitory effect on high glucose.induced rat mesangial cells proliferationRH has an inhibitory effect on the expression of extracellular matrixRH has a growth.suppression effectRH can upregulate the expression of apoptotic mediators bax and caspase-3All above shows RH is one of the main active ingredient in Shenkang injection. Abbreviations used: RH: Rhein, ECM: Extracellular matrix, DN: Diabetic nephropathy, RMC: Renal mesangial cell, SKI: Shenkang injection, MTT: 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide.
Methods
The established rat renal mesangial cell (RMC) line was cultured in medium with different concentrations of glucose (5.6 mM or 25 mM) and RH (40 μM, 20 μM, and 10 μM). Pro-treated cells were collected at 12 h, 24 h, and 48 h for cell proliferation analysis and after 24 h for the experiments of flow cytometry, transmission electron microscope, real-time polymerase chain reaction, and Western blotting.
Results
Our data shows HG can promote the proliferation of RMCs and RH has an inhibitory effect on HG-induced RMC proliferation and expression of ECM. Based on our data, we hypothesize this inhibitory effect might be a result of cell cycle regulation and the induction of cellular apoptosis.