A study on the therapeutic effect of liraglutide on chronic renal failure rats by down-regulating TGF-β1 and α-SMA

Objective To explore the therapeutic effect of liraglutide on chronic renal failure(CRF)rats by down-regulating transforming growth factor-β1(TGF-β1)and α-smooth muscle actin(α-SMA).Methods Wistar rats were divided into sham group,chronic renal failure group(CRF group),low-dose liraglutide group(Liraglutide-L group)and high-dose liraglutide group(Liraglutide-H group).Rats were weighed for the body weight for each group before modeling and after completion of experiment.Automatic biochemical analyzer was used to detect serum urea nitrogen(BUN)and serum creatinine(Scr)levels in each group.The 24-hour urine protein(UP)levels of rats in each group were determined by the biuret method.Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA)was used to detect the contents of nitric oxide(NO),malondialdehyde(MDA)and catalase(CAT)in the kidney tissues of rats in each group.Hematoxylin-Eosin(HE)staining was used to detect the pathological changes of rat kidney tissue in each group. Immunohistochemistry was used to detect the expressions of TGF-β1 and α-SMA in the kidney tissues of rats in each group.Results Rats in the Liraglutide-L and Liraglutide-H groups gained weight compared with the CRF group(P<0.05).Liraglutide decreased the levels of BUN,Scr and UP(P<0.05).Compared with the CRF group,the levels of NO and CAT in the kidney tissues of rats in the Liraglutide-L and Liraglutide-H groups increased(all P<0.05),while the content of MDA decreased(P<0.05).Liraglutide greatly improved the morphology of rat kidneys,and down-regulated the expression of TGF-β1 and α-SMA in rat kidney tissues(P<0.05).Conclusions Liraglutide have a certain therapeutic effect on chronic renal failure rats,which may be related to inhibition of oxidative stress and down-regulation of the expressions of TGF-β1 and α-SMA.