Abstract
OBJECTIVE: Cinnamaldehyde (CA) is the main active component of Guizhi (Cinnamomi ramulus) to ameliorate adriamycin- (ADR-) induced proteinuria in rats. However, the underlying mechanism of CA against proteinuria remains unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate the action mechanisms of CA to treat proteinuria. METHODS: 13 rats were randomly selected from 78 SD rats as control group, and the other rats were injected with ADR (3 mg/kg/time) twice through tail vein on day 1 and day 8 for modeling. After modeling, the rats were randomly divided into 5 groups as follows: ADR group, ADR+CA low-dose group, ADR+CA middle-dose group, ADR+CA high-dose group and Benazepril group with 13 rats in each group. The urine of SD rats was collected for 24 h, urine protein, creatinine and urea nitrogen were detected, renal index was calculated, and HE staining and western blot were performed. RESULTS: The 24 h urine volume and urine protein, renal function, and renal histopathology got worse significantly in the ADR group. To western blot, CA downregulated the protein expression of ACE and Ang-2 and upregulated the protein expression of ACE2 in RAS signaling pathway. CONCLUSION: The underlying action mechanism of CA to treat NS might mainly be achieved by regulating RAS signaling pathway.