Li Wen, Wang Li, Chu Xiaoqian, Cui Huantian, Bian Yuhong
School of Medicine, State Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemical Biology, Key Laboratory of Tumor Microenvironment and Neurovascular Regulation, Nankai University, Tianjin, 300071, China.
Tianjin Second People's Hospital, Tianjin, 300192, China.
Mol Cell Biochem. 2017 Apr;428(1-2):203-212. doi: 10.1007/s11010-016-2930-8. Epub 2017 Jan 23.
At present, the main therapy for chronic renal failure (CRF) is dialysis and renal transplantation, but neither obtains satisfactory results. Human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (huMSCs) are isolated from the fetal umbilical cord which has a high self-renewal and multi-directional differentiation potential. Icariin (ICA), a kidney-tonifying Chinese Medicine can enhance the multipotency of huMSCs. Therefore, this work seeks to employ the use of ICA-treated huMSCs for the treatment of chronic renal failure. Blood urea nitrogen and creatinine (Cr) analyses showed amelioration of functional parameters in ICA-treated huMSCs for the treatment of CRF rats at 3, 7, and 14 days after transplantation. ICA-treated huMSCs can obviously increase the number of cells in injured renal tissues at 3, 7, and 14 days after transplantation by optical molecular imaging system. Hematoxylin-eosin staining demonstrated that ICA-treated huMSCs reduced the levels of fibrosis in CRF rats at 14 days after transplantation. Superoxide dismutase and Malondialdehyde analyses showed that ICA-treated huMSCs reduced the oxidative damage in CRF rats. Moreover, transplantation with ICA-treated huMSCs decreased inflammatory responses, promoted the expression of growth factors, and protected injured renal tissues. Taken together, our findings suggest that ICA-treated huMSCs could improve the kidney function in CRF rats.
目前，慢性肾衰竭（CRF）的主要治疗方法是透析和肾移植，但两者均未取得令人满意的效果。人脐带间充质干细胞（huMSCs）是从胎儿脐带中分离出来的，具有高度的自我更新和多向分化潜能。淫羊藿苷（ICA）是一种补肾中药，可增强huMSCs的多能性。因此，本研究旨在采用经ICA处理的huMSCs治疗慢性肾衰竭。血尿素氮和肌酐（Cr）分析表明，在移植后3、7和14天，经ICA处理的huMSCs治疗CRF大鼠的功能参数有所改善。通过光学分子成像系统检测发现，经ICA处理的huMSCs在移植后3、7和14天可明显增加受损肾组织中的细胞数量。苏木精-伊红染色显示，经ICA处理的huMSCs在移植后14天可降低CRF大鼠的纤维化水平。超氧化物歧化酶和丙二醛分析表明，经ICA处理的huMSCs可减轻CRF大鼠的氧化损伤。此外，经ICA处理的huMSCs移植可减轻炎症反应，促进生长因子的表达，并保护受损的肾组织。综上所述，我们的研究结果表明，经ICA处理的huMSCs可改善CRF大鼠的肾功能。
