The Protective Effect of Basic Fibroblast Growth Factor on Diabetic Nephropathy Through Remodeling Metabolic Phenotype and Suppressing Oxidative Stress in Mice.

Diabetic nephropathy is a common complication in diabetes, but still lack of effective therapeutic strategies. This study aimed to investigate the therapeutic effect of basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) in mice with diabetic nephropathy and explore its possible metabolic mechanisms using a nuclear magnetic resonance-based metabolomic approach. We found that bFGF treatment significantly alleviate urinary albumin to creatinine ratio and renal fibrosis in mice, suggesting a potential renal protective effect. Metabolomics results reveal that bFGF remodeled metabolic phenotypes of the kidney and urine in mice, mainly involving energy metabolism, methylamine metabolism, osmoregulation, and oxidative stress. Furthermore, the results show that bFGF-induced reductions of oxidative stress and apoptosis in mice might be mediated by NOX-ROS-Nrf2 signaling. Therefore, our study suggests that the protective effect of bFGF on diabetic nephropathy could be mediated by remodeling metabolic phenotype and suppressing oxidative stress.