Protective effects of tacrolimus on podocytes in early diabetic nephropathy in rats.

Protective effects of tacrolimus on podocytes in early diabetic nephropathy in rats. Mol Med Rep. 2017 Mar 22;: Authors: Peng T, Chang X, Wang J, Zhen J, Yang X, Hu Z Abstract The aim of the present study was to investigate the protective effect of tacrolimus on early podocyte damage in rats with diabetic nephropathy (DN). A total of 38 normal male Sprague‑Dawley rats were randomly divided into four groups: Normal control group (group N; n=8), DN group (n=10), tacrolimus (FK506) treatment group (group F; n=10), benazepril (Lotensin) treatment group (group L; n=10). The rats in groups DN, F and L were administered with streptozotocin (STZ; 60 mg/kg) by intraperitoneal injection to establish the diabetic rat model. After 4 weeks, the diabetic rat model was established, and rats in the different groups were administered intragrastically with the respective drugs. Blood glucose (BS), body weight (BW) and 24‑h urine protein were detected every 4 weeks, serum creatinine (SCr), blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and kidney weight/body weight (KW/BW) were measured at the end of the 8 weeks of drug treatment. Renal pathological changes were observed under a light microscope and electron microscope. Expression of nephrin, which is a podocyte‑specific marker, was detected using western blot analysis. The results showed that the levels of SCr, BUN, KW/BW and 24‑h urine protein in groups D, F and L were significantly higher, compared with thos...
Source: Molecular Medicine Reports - Category: Molecular Biology Tags: Mol Med Rep Source Type: research