| 内容提要: |
As previous research, Berberine (BBR) has exhibited protective effects against diabetic nephropathy, but the mechanisms involved have not been fully established. Hence, in the present study, we aimed to investigate whether BBR exhibited renoprotective effect in STZ-induced type 2 diabetic rats via anti-oxidative stress, anti-inflammation and anti-apoptosis signaling pathways. The type 2 diabetic rat model was induced by high-fat diet combined with a single dose of streptozotocin (35 mg/kg). Treatment with BBR could diminish the body weight loss, decrease the levels of fasting blood glucose and HbA1c%. What’s more, BBR significantly improved creatinine clearance rate, reduced the levels of 24-hour urinary protein, serum creatinine, blood urea nitrogen and alleviated kidney hypertrophy. Moreover, the activities of superoxide dismutase, catalase, reduced glutathione and glutathione peroxidase were elevated in the diabetic kidney, whereas the malondialdehyde level was decreased after BBR administration. BBR was also found to suppress inflammation via inhibiting NF-κB signaling pathway. In addition, western blot implied that BBR obviously downregulated the expression of Bax, caspase-3, caspase-9 and upregulated Bcl-2 protein expression in the kidney of STZ-induced type 2 diabetic rats. In conclusion, this study strongly demonstrated that BBR exhibited protective effect against type 2 diabetes induced renal injury by attenuating oxidative stress, inflammation and apoptosis. |