Reno-protective effect and mechanism study of Huang Lian Jie Du Decoction on lupus nephritis MRL/lpr mice

BACKGROUND: Huang Lian Jie Du Decoction (HLJDD), a very famous traditional Chinese medicinal prescription, has been used for heat dissipation and detoxification in China. This study was aimed to evaluate the reno-protective effects of HLJDD against lupus nephritis (LN) in vivo in MRL/lpr mice. METHODS: Animals were administered orally every day for eight consecutive weeks except the mice of normal group and model group. Organ indexes, serum interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-10 (IL-10), interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) and the anti-double stranded DNA (anti-dsDNA) antibody were tested, respectively. Creatinine (Cr), blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and urine protein were measured for renal function evaluation. The expression of phosphorylated signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (p-STAT 3) in kidney tissue was observed by western blot (WB) and immunohistochemical (IHC) method. Meanwhile, histopathological changes in the renal were studied by hematoxylin-eosin (H&E) staining. RESULTS: The mice of HLJDD-treated group exhibited a significant reduced mortality (p < 0.05), serum anti-dsDNA level (p < 0.05) and renal immune complex deposition (p < 0.05), compared with the untreated MRL/lpr mice. In addition, HLJDD treatment remarkably reduced the levels of BUN, Cr, proteinuria (p < 0.01) and the levels of inflammatory cytokines such as IL-6, IL-10 and IFN-γ (p < 0.01). Moreover, HLJDD significantly suppressed the phosphorylations of STAT 3 (p < 0.05) and the renal pathological changes. CONCLUSIONS: The study implied that HLJDD may be a potential agent for the therapy of LN, and the down-regulated p-STAT 3 expression suggesting that it may be one of the LN therapy targets for HLJDD.