Mitochondrial Dysfunction and Diabetic Nephropathy: Nontraditional Therapeutic Opportunities

Figure 2

Therapeutic target of herbal medicine on mitochondrial dysfunction in DN. Herbal medicine plays a protective role in inhibiting DRP1-mediated mitochondrial dynamics to improve mitochondrial dysfunction in DN. In addition, herbal medicine enhances mitochondrial biogenesis by inducing the expression of PGC-1α and its upstream regulators (AMPK and SIRT1) and drives PINK1/Parkin-mediated mitophagy. In addition, the renoprotective effects of herbal medicine are associated with antioxidative stress. Abbreviations: DN: diabetic nephropathy; DRP1: dynamin 1-like protein; PGC-1α: PGC1α, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ coactivator 1α; AMPK: 5-AMP-activated protein kinase; SIRT1: sirtuin-1; PINK1: putative kinase protein 1; Cyt c: cytochrome c; ROS: reactive oxygen species; MFN1 and 2: mitofusin proteins 1 and 2; OPA1: optic atrophy protein 1; MFF: mitofission proteins; FIS1: mitochondrial fission 1; PPAR: peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor; Parkin: E3 ubiquitin-protein ligase parkin.