Abstract:

Objective To investigate the effects of ethyl pyruvate (EP) on expression of apoptosis related gene of renal tissues and apoptosis of renal cells with ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) in mice. Methods Fifty-two male BABL/c mice of 8 weeks old were randomly divided into sham operation group (n=10), I/R group (I/R model was established, n=10) and EP treatment group (n=32). EP treatment group was subdivided into EP pretreatment group (administration of EP 30 min before model establishment, n=8) and 4 h, 6 h and 12 h post-I/R EP treatment groups (administration of EP 4 h, 6 h and 12 h after model establishment, respectively, n=8 in each group). Cell apoptosis of each group was analysed by TUNEL staining, and the expression of apoptosis related gene Bcl-2, Bax and Caspase-3 mRNA was detected by Real-time PCR. Results TUNEL staining analysis indicated that the number of apoptotic cells in I/R group was much larger than that in sham operation group (P<0.05), and the number of apoptotic cells in EP pretreatment group was much smaller than that in I/R group (P<0.05). Real-time PCR revealed that the expression of Bax and Caspase-3 mRNA was significantly higher and the expression of Bcl-2 mRNA was significantly lower in I/R group than that in sham operation group (P<0.05), the expression of Bcl-2 mRNA was significantly higher in EP pretreatment group and 6 h post-I/R EP treatment group than that in I/R group (P<0.05), and the expression of Bax and Caspase-3 mRNA was significantly lower in EP pretreatment group and 4 h, 6 h and 12 h post-I/R EP treatment groups than that in I/R group (P<0.05). Conclusion EP can effectively inhibit apoptosis of renal cells with I/R in BABL/c mice, which may be related to the regulation of apoptosis related gene of renal tissues.

Key words: ethyl pyruvate, ischemia-reperfusion, apoptosis, apoptosis related gene, kidney