Sanziguben polysaccharides inhibit diabetic nephropathy through NF-κB-mediated anti-inflammation

Abstract Background Sanziguben polysaccharides (SZP) are large amounts of classical Chinese medicines from Sanziguben (SZGB). Moreover, SZGB is a widely applied compound prescription for diabetic nephropathy (DN) treatment, but the role is still unclear. This study initially explores the mechanism of SZP in the treatment of DN. Methods The high-fat diet plus streptozotocin injections were used to replicate the DN models in male C57BL/6 mice. DN mice were divided into five groups: DN mice, DN mice treated with SZP(1.01 or 2.02 g/kg), DN mice treated with SZGB decoction(4.7 g/kg), and DN mice treated with metformin (300 mg/kg). HG and LPS plus TNFα stimulated human tubule epithelial (HK-2) cells to establish an in vitro model and treated with SZP (100 or 200 μg/mL). Results SZP was found to comprise sugar, protein, and uronic acid. Furthermore, SZP alleviated the progression of inflammation in vivo and in vitro by inhibiting the expression of NF-κB. Conclusions NF-κB plays a critical role in the development of DN induced by STZ and HG. Furthermore, SZP can attenuate the NF-κB‐mediated progression of diabetic nephropathy, improve DN through anti-inflammation.