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Mechanisms and therapeutic progress of Chinese materia medica in the prevention and treatment of renal fibrosis in diabetic nephropathy
Received date: 2025-08-06
Accepted date: 2025-09-10
Online published: 2026-01-30
Supported by
National Natural Science Foundation of China(32471208)
Diabetic nephropathy (DN), one of the most severe microvascular complications of diabetes, can progressively lead to irreversible end-stage renal disease (ESRD), posing a major global public health challenge. Renal fibrosis, a core pathological feature of DN progression, has become a key therapeutic target for intervention. Current clinical management strategies (including blood glucose/blood pressure control and the use of renin-angiotensin system inhibitors) can delay disease progression, but their effectiveness in blocking renal fibrosis, a critical pathological process, remains limited. Recent studies have shown that Chinese materia medica demonstrates unique therapeutic value in the prevention and treatment of DN. Through multi-component, multi-target, and multi-pathway synergistic mechanisms, Chinese materia medica has shown significant advantages in regulating glucose and lipid metabolism, inhibiting inflammatory responses, reducing oxidative stress, and attenuating renal fibrosis. Clinical research has confirmed that Chinese materia medica formulas and active ingredients not only effectively improve clinical symptoms and reduce proteinuria excretion but also exert clear renal protective effects and retard the progression of renal lesions. Based on these findings, the molecular mechanisms the molecular mechanisms by which Chinese materia medica regulates renal fibrosis in DN have become an important research direction for the development of novel anti-fibrosis drugs. This review systematically summarizes the mechanisms of action of Chinese materia medica and its active ingredients with clear anti-fibrosis effects, aiming to provide scientific evidence and translational insights for the development of innovative therapeutic strategies targeting renal fibrosis in DN.
Zhang Xianjing , Chen Suzhen . Mechanisms and therapeutic progress of Chinese materia medica in the prevention and treatment of renal fibrosis in diabetic nephropathy[J]. Journal of Shanghai Jiao Tong University (Medical Science), 2026 , 46(1) : 90 -99 . DOI: 10.3969/j.issn.1674-8115.2026.01.011
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