Effect of prednisone on Th17/Treg immunologic balance in mice with adriamycin nephropathy

Abstract:

Objective：To investigate the change in Th17/Treg immunologic balance in the kidney in mice with adriamycin（ADR） nephropathy and the effect of prednisone on Th17/Treg immunologic balance in the kidney in this model. Methods：Healthy male BALB/c mice aged 6-8 weeks were randomly divided into control group，ADR nephropathy group（ADR group），ADR+low-dose pred－nisone[ADR+Pre（low）] group，and ADR+high-dose prednisone[ADR+Pre（high）] group. Since week 5 after the model was estab－lished，the two treatment groups were given prednisone suspension by gavage at a dose of 13.5 and 18 mg/kg，respectively，once a day for 8 weeks. The Coomassie brilliant blue method was used to measure the concentration of random urinary protein；Serum Creatinine Kit was used to measure random urine creatinine；HE staining and a transmission electron microscope were used to observe renal histopathological changes；flow cytometry was used to measure the percentages of Th17 and Treg cells in the kidney. Results：Compared with the control group，the ADR group showed progression from minimal change nephrotic syndrome to focal segmental glomeruloscle－rosis and significant increases in random urinary protein-creatinine ratio（RUPCR）（P=0.000） and percentage of Th17 cells in the kidney（P=0.000），and there was no significant difference in the percentage of Treg between the two groups；the ADR group showed Th17/Treg imbalance（P=0.000）. Compared with the ADR group，the two prednisone treatment groups had vary－ing degrees of relief of kidney injury and a significant reduction in RUPCR（P<0.01），and the ADR+Pre（high） group had a significantly greater reduction than the ADR+Pre（low） group（P<0.05）. Compared with the ADR group，the ADR+Pre（high） group had significant reductions in Th17 cells（P<0.05） and Th17/Treg ratio（P<0.01），while there was no significant difference in Treg cells between the two groups. Conclusion：Kidney injury becomes worse with the aggravation of Th17/Treg imbalance in the kidney in mice with ADR nephropathy. Early prednisone treatment can downregu－late the percentage of Th17 cells in the kidney，delay Th17/Treg imbalance，and thus protect the kidney.