Abstract:Objective: To explore the inhibitory effect of curcumin inhibits tubulointerstitial fibrosis after renal ischemia-reperfusion through TGF-β/Smads signaling pathway. Methods: Forty healthy SD rats were randomly divided into sham operation group, model group, low dose group and high dose group. Clamped and loosened renal pedicle to make renal ischemia-reperfusion rat model. Serum creatinine (Scr) and urea nitrogen (BUN) levels, collagen content in kidney tissue, pathological changes of kidney tissue and expression of TGF-β1, Smad3 and Smad7 protein in kidney were measured. Results: The shape of renal tubules was normal in sham-operation group, and there were significant pathological changes of renal tubular fibers in model group. The pathological changes of tubulointerstitial fibers in low dose group and high dose group were significantly improved, and the improvement degree in high dose group was higher than that in low dose group. The renal tubulointerstitial fibrosis score, Scr, BUN, collagen content, TGF-β1 and Smad3 in the model group were significantly higher than those in the sham operation group, and Smad7 was significantly lower than that in the sham operation group (P<0.05). The tubulointerstitial fibrosis score, Scr, BUN, collagen content, TGF-β1 and Smad3 in low dose group and high dose group were significantly lower than those in model group, and Smad7 was significantly higher than that in model group (P<0.05). The scores of renal tubulointerstitial fibrosis, Scr, BUN, collagen content, TGF-β1 and Smad3 in high dose group were significantly lower than those in low dose group, and Smad7 was significantly higher than that in low dose group (P<0.05). Conclusion: Curcumin can inhibit tubulointerstitial fibrosis after renal ischemia-reperfusion, and the mechanism may be inhibition of TGF-β/Smad signal transduction pathway.
