Conclusions
These findings provide a fundamental understanding of the application of CS in HN treatment to better guide clinical interventions.
Methods
Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into control, HN, CS and positive control allopurinol groups. The HN group was intraperitoneally injected with 750 mg/kg oxonic acid potassium (OA), whereas the CS group was injected with OA along with a gavage of CS (low dose 3.125 g/kg, high dose 6.25 g/kg) for five weeks. For in vitro studies, uric acid-treated HK2 cells were used to verify the therapeutic mechanism of CS in HN.
Objective
To investigate the molecular mechanism of action of CS in HN treatment using in vivo and in vitro experiments. Materials and
Results
HN rats exhibit pathological phenotypes of elevated sUA levels and renal injury. CS significantly improved these symptoms and sUA (p < 0.05) and blood urea nitrogen (p < 0.01) levels, and dramatically improved renal tubular injury in HN rats. The IC50 value of UA (uric acid) in HK2 cells was 826.32 ± 3.55 μg/mL; however, 120 ng/mL CS had no significant cytotoxicity on HK2 cells. In vivo and in vitro studies showed that CS inhibited NF-κB phosphorylation and inhibited α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) and vimentin expression while increasing E-cadherin expression, suggesting that CS inhibited the fibrotic process in renal cells, thus protecting renal function.