Effect Of Fluvastatin On Peritoneum In Peritoneal Dialysis Rats Model

Objective:To preliminaryly investigate the effect of fluvastatin(Flu) on peritoneum in peritoneal dialysis(PD) rats model.Methods:A rat model of PD was built by intraperitoneal injection of2.5%or4.25%peritoneal dialysate.42SD rats were randomly divided into7groups:(1) Normal control group;(2) Saline control group:saline100ml/kg intraperitoneal injection(IP) each day;(3) Fluvastatin treatment group:fluvastatin intragastrically administation10mg/kg IP each day;(4)2.5%PD group:2.5%peritoneal dialysate IP100ml/kg everyday;(5)4.25%PD group:4.25%peritoneal dialysate IP100ml/kg everyday;(6)2.5%PD plus fluvastatin treatment group:2.5%peritoneal dialysate IP100ml/kg plus fluvastatin10mg/kg everyday;(7)4.25%PD plus fluvastatin treatment group:4.25%peritoneal dialysate IP100ml/kg plus fluvastatin10mg/kg everyday. The animals were sacrificed6weeks after the first treatment and peritoneal tissues were dissected carefully for further analysis. Expressions of Transforming growth factor-β1(TGF-β1) and Fibronectin(FN) of each group were examined by RT-PCR and immunohistochemical analysis. A portion of peritoneal tissues was used for histological examination.Results:HE and Masson staining showed that the peritoneum thickened in2.5%and4.25%PD group than nornal control group and saline control group. The fluvastatin treatment ameliorated the thickening of peritoneum induced by PD. RT-PCR and immunohistochemical analysis showed that the mRNA and protein expression of TGF-β1and FN increased in2.5%and4.25%PD group than in normal and saline control group(all P<0.05). The fluvastatin treatment ameliorated the increased expression of TGF-β1and FN induced by PD. There was no statistically significant difference among normal control group, saline control group and fluvastatin treatment group in both peritoneal thickness and the expression of TGF-β1and FN.Conclusion:Fluvastatin(Flu) can reduce the expression of TGF-β1and FN in rat peritoneum and reverse the thickness of the peritoneum in peritoneal dialysis rats model. This findings confirm that fluvastatin could be used to protect peritoneum from peritoneal dialysate. However, the specific mechanisms warrant further investigation.