| Objective: To investigate the effect of leflunomide(LEF) in anti-Thy-1 mesangioproliferative glomerulonephritis(MsPGN) in rats. Methods: Male SD rats (4-6-week old) were divided into three groups: MsPGN rats, LEF-treated MsPGN rats, and control non-MsPGN rats. LEF-treated rats were continuously given 5mg kg-1 day-1 for 2 days before anti-Thymocyte antibody (ATS) injection in LEF-treated group and MsPGN group, MsPGN rats were induced by a single intravenous injection of 0.3mg/kg ATS. Blood and urinary biochemitry and endothelin (ET) in blood and glomeruli were measured. Renal morphological changes were evaluated as well. Results: Proteinuria and cholesterol of LEF-treated group decreased significantly compared with MsPGN rats ( respectively, P < 0.01, P < 0.05 ). Blood ET in LEF-treated group were lower than MsPGN group (P < 0.01), as well as me glomerular ET (P < 0.001). The proliferation of mesangiai cells and the synthesis of mesangiai matrix were inhibited in LEF-treated rats as well (P < 0.01). There was positively significant correlation between ET in glomeruli and proteinuria (r=0.9057, P<0.001), but blood ET were not correlated to the excretion of the urine protein and the glomerular ET . Conclusion: LEF can significantly reduce the proliferation of mesangiai cells and the synthesis of mesangiai matrix , as well as decrease proteinuria by lessen ET in glomeruli. |
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