Research Article

Danggui Buxue Tang Attenuates Tubulointerstitial Fibrosis via Suppressing NLRP3 Inflammasome in a Rat Model of Unilateral Ureteral Obstruction

Figure 4

BDT decreased Col I mRNA levels in the obstructive kidneys after UUO at 14 days (a). Col I mRNA abundance was determined by real-time PCR. Col I mRNA levels were normalized to actin and expressed as the fold change in reference to Col I mRNA in sham-operated rats. Expression of Col I mRNA was upregulated in UUO group; DBT and enalapril treatment downregulated the expression of Col I mRNA in DBT group and enalapril group (). The level of Col I mRNA was lower in DBT-treated group than in enalapril group (a). DBT decreased the protein expressions of α-SMA in the obstructed kidneys as shown by Western blot (b). The column section indicated the relative expression level of α-SMA in the obstructive kidneys in each group. The expression was higher in UUO group than in sham group. Treatment with DBT and enalapril reduced the level of α-SMA protein. There was no difference between DBT and enalapril groups. All data were presented as means ± SD, ( versus sham group; versus UUO group; and versus enalapril group).
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