Pterostilbene, a Bioactive Component of Blueberries, Alleviates Renal Interstitial Fibrosis by Inhibiting Macrophage-Myofibroblast Transition.

Pterostilbene (PTB) is a derivative of resveratrol present in grapes and blueberries. PTB is structurally similar to resveratrol, possessing properties such as being analgesic, anti-aging, antidiabetic, anti-inflammatory, anti-obesity, anti-oxidation, cholesterol-reductive, and neuroprotective. However, there have not been reports on the effect of PTB on macrophage-myofibroblast transition (MMT) induced fibrosis in kidney. In this study, we investigated the antifibrotic effects of PTB on the mouse unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO) model and MMT cells. Kidneys subjected to UUO with PTB treatment were collected for the investigation of PTB mediating MMT derived renal interstitial fibrosis. We conducted kidney RNA-seq transcriptomes and TGF-[Formula: see text]1-induced bone marrow-derived macrophages assays to determine the mechanisms of PTB. We found that PTB treatment suppressed the interstitial fibrosis in UUO mice. PTB also attenuated the number of MMT cells and . The transcriptomic analysis showed that CXCL10 may play a central role in the process of PTB-treated renal fibrosis. The siRNA-mediated CXCL10 knockdown decreased the number of MMT cells in TGF-[Formula: see text]1-induced bone marrow-derived macrophages. Our results suggested that PTB attenuated renal interstitial fibrosis by mediating MMT by regulating transcriptional activity of CXCL10.