The prevention of glomerulosclerosis in rats using traditional Chinese medicine, Sairei-to

The effects of Sairei-to on chronic irreversible lesions were examined by t he administration of drugs after the initiation of irreversible renal lesio ns by uninephrectomy and anti-thy-1 antibody injection, Twenty-one female W ister rats were divided into three groups. Group 1 was treated with phospha te-buffered saline (PBS) as a control and groups 2 and 3 were treated with Sairei-to 400 mg/kg bodyweight per day on a daily basis beginning on day 1 (group 2) and day 7 (group 3) to day 42 after the intravenous administratio n of 500 mu g anti-thy-1 monoclonal antibody (MoAb) into uninephrectomized rats, respectively. Statistically significant effects of Sairei-to on prote inuria were observed on days 3, 7, 14, and 21 in group 2 and on day 21 in g roup 3 as compared with the PBS controls. On day 42, light microscopy showe d that Sairei-to ameliorated morphological lesions (Matrix score: 133.7+/-5 0.35 for group 1 vs 40.0+/-24.0 for group 2, P<0.05). The weight of the kid neys in groups given Sairei-to was also lower than that in the PBS control. in addition, immunofluorescent findings showed that Sairei-to suppressed t he expression of transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta), alpha-smooth m uscle actin (alpha-SMA) and collagen type I in glomeruli and decreased the number of ED1- and OX8-positive cells in tubulo-interstitium as well as in glomeruli. in conclusion, Sairei-to blocked the progression of renal lesion s in this model even when it was administered after the initiation of the d isease. In addition, earlier treatment more effectively prevented the progr ession of the renal lesions.