Dioscin Reduces Vascular Damage in the Retina of db/db Mice by Inhibiting the VEGFA Signaling Pathway

Bioinformatics for the Identification of STING-Related Genes in Diabetic Retinopathy

PURPOSE

Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is the most common complication of diabetes mellitus. Stimulator of interferon genes (STING) plays an important regulatory role in the transcription of several genes. This study aimed to mine and identify hub genes relevant to STING in DR.

METHODS

The STING-related genes (STING-RGs) were extracted from MSigDB database. Differentially expressed STING-RGs (DE-STING-RGs) were filtered by overlapping differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between DR and NC specimens and STING-RGs. A PPI network was established to mine hub genes. The ability of the hub genes to differentiate between DR and NC specimens was evaluated. Additionally, a ceRNA network was established to investigate the regulatory mechanisms of hub genes. Subsequently, the discrepancies in immune infiltration between DR and NC specimens were further explored. Additionally, we performed drug predictions. Finally, RT-qPCR of peripheral blood samples was used to validate the bioinformatics results.

RESULTS

A grand total of four genes (IKBKG, STAT6, NFKBIA, and FCGR2A) related to STING were identified for DR. The AUC values of all four hub genes were greater than 0.7, which indicated that the diagnostic value was acceptable. The ceRNA network contained four hub genes, 170 miRNAs, and 135 lncRNAs. In addition, immunoinfiltration analysis demonstrated that the abundance of activated B cells was notably different between the DR and NC specimens. Moreover, 32 drugs were included in the drug-gene network, with twelve drugs targeting STAT6, nine drugs targeting NFKBIA, four drugs targeted IKBKG, and seven drugs targeted FCGR2A. The expression of the four hub genes in blood samples determined by RT-qPCR was consistent with our analysis.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, four hub genes (IKBKG, STAT6, NFKBIA, and FCGR2A) related to STING with a diagnostic value for DR were identified by bioinformatics analysis, which might provide new insights into the evaluation and treatment of DR.

Huoxue Jiedu Huayu recipe inhibits macrophage-secreted vascular endothelial growth factor-a on angiogenesis and alleviates renal fibrosis in the contralateral kidneys of unilateral ureteral obstruction rats

OBJECTIVE：To elucidate the mechanism by which Huoxue Jiedu Huayu recipe (, HJHR) regulates angiogenesis in the contralateral kidney of unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO) rats and the mechanism by which it reduces of renal fibrosis.

METHODS

Male Wistar rats were randomly divided into 4 groups: the sham group, UUO group (180 d of left ureter ligation), UUO plus eplerenone (EPL) group, and UUO plus HJHR group. After 180 d of oral drug administration, blood and contralateral kidneys were collected for analysis. Angiogenesis- and fibrosis-related indexes were detected.

RESULTS

HJHR and EPL improved structural damage and renal interstitial fibrosis in the contralateral kidney and reduced the protein expression levels of α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA), vimentin and collagen I. Moreover, these treatments could reduce the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor-A (VEGFA) by inhibiting the infiltration of macrophages. Furthermore, HJHR and EPL significantly reduced the expression of CD34 and CD105 by downregulating VEGFA production, which inhibited angiogenesis. Finally, the coexpressions of CD34, CD105 and α-SMA were decreased in the HJHR and EPL groups, indicating that endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition was inhibited.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings confirm that HJHR alleviates contralateral renal fibrosis by inhibiting VEGFA-induced angiogenesis, encourage the use of HJHR against renal interstitial fibrosis and provide a theoretical basis for the clinical management of patients with CKD.

Esaxerenone Inhibits Renal Angiogenesis and Endothelial-Mesenchymal Transition via the VEGFA and TGF-β1 Pathways in Aldosterone-Infused Mice

Renal fibrosis is an inevitable process in the progression of chronic kidney disease (CKD). Angiogenesis plays an important role in this process. Vascular endothelial cells are involved in renal fibrosis by phenotypic transformation and secretion of extracellular matrix. Aldosterone stimulates mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) activation and induces inflammation, which is important for angiogenesis. Clinically, MR blockers (MRBs) have a protective effect on damaged kidneys, which may be associated with inhibition of angiogenesis. In this study, we used aldosterone-infused mice and found that aldosterone induced angiogenesis and that endothelial-mesenchymal transition (EndMT) in neovascular endothelial cells was involved in renal fibrosis. Notably, aldosterone induced inflammation and stimulated macrophages to secrete vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) A to regulate angiogenesis by activating MR, whereas EndMT occurred in response to transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) induction and participated in renal fibrosis. These effects were antagonized by the MRB esaxerenone. These findings suggest that reducing angiogenesis may be an effective strategy for treating renal fibrosis.

Molecular Mechanistic Pathways Targeted by Natural Compounds in the Prevention and Treatment of Diabetic Kidney Disease

Diabetic kidney disease (DKD) is one of the most common complications of diabetes, and its prevalence is still growing rapidly. However, the efficient therapies for this kidney disease are still limited. The pathogenesis of DKD involves glucotoxicity, lipotoxicity, inflammation, oxidative stress, and renal fibrosis. Glucotoxicity and lipotoxicity can cause oxidative stress, which can lead to inflammation and aggravate renal fibrosis. In this review, we have focused on in vitro and in vivo experiments to investigate the mechanistic pathways by which natural compounds exert their effects against the progression of DKD. The accumulated and collected data revealed that some natural compounds could regulate inflammation, oxidative stress, renal fibrosis, and activate autophagy, thereby protecting the kidney. The main pathways targeted by these reviewed compounds include the Nrf2 signaling pathway, NF-κB signaling pathway, TGF-β signaling pathway, NLRP3 inflammasome, autophagy, glycolipid metabolism and ER stress. This review presented an updated overview of the potential benefits of these natural compounds for the prevention and treatment of DKD progression, aimed to provide new potential therapeutic lead compounds and references for the innovative drug development and clinical treatment of DKD.