The Therapeutic Effects Of Losartan And Combination Of Bailing Capsules On Renal Interstitial Fibrosis Of Chronic Aristolochic Acid Nephropathy

Objective: To investigate the therapeutic effects of angiotensinâ…¡type 1 receptor antagonist(losartan)and combination of cordyceps sinensis (Bailing capsules)on renal interstitial fibrosis of mouses with chronic aristolochic acid nephropathy(CAAN).Methods: A mouse model of CAAN was established by gavage with extract of Aristolochia manshuriensis Kom(20g·kg^-1·d^-1)intermittently, and then they were divided into the following four groups, i. e. control group ,model group, losartan group(30 mg·kg^-1·d^-1and losartan with Bailing capsules (2g·kg^-1·d^-1) group. Control group (CTR)only received tap water. At the end of 4^th, 8^th and 12^th week, serum creatinine (Scr) and blood urea nitrogen (BUN) were measured. Afterwards the mouses were sacrificed. The mRNA expression of transforming growth factor-β₁ (TGF-β₁) and connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) was semi-quantitatively determined with reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The expression of TGF-β₁ and CTGF was analyzed by immuno-histochemistry.Results: Compared with CTR, Scr and BUN were significantly increased since 8^th week(P<0.05 or 0.01), immuno-histochemistry and RT-PCR revealed that the expression of TGF-β₁ and CTGF was significantly up-regulated in the model group(P<0.01) and up-regulated after intervention with losartan and losartan with Bailing capsules(P<0.05 or 0.01) since 4^th week. After intervention with losartan and losartan with Bailing capsules, compared with model group, the up-regulating above mentioned parameters were all significantly inhibited (P<0.05 or 0.01). However, there was no difference between losartan group and Losartan with Bailing capsules group.Conclusion: The expression of TGF-β₁ and CTGF increased in the model group with the time going, suggested that TGF-β₁ and CTGF have relationship with the progression of renal interstitial fibrosis. After intervention with losartan, BUN,Scr and the expression of TGF-β₁ and CTGF decreased visibly, demonstrationed that losartan can ameliorate renal interstitial fibrosis and improve renal function in mouses with CAAN: But the expression of TGF-β₁ and CTGF in losartan and losartan with Bailing capsules group have no significant difference, the therapeutic effects of losartan with Bailing capsules were not better than losartan on renal interstitial fibrosis of mouses with chronic aristolochic acid nephropathy(CAAN).