s-propargylcysteine and Nephritis

In this work, we demonstrated for the first time that S-propargyl-cysteine (SPRC, also named as ZYZ-802), a novel hydrogen sulfide (H2S)-releasing compound, had renoprotective effects on streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic kidney injury. SPRC treatment significantly reduced the level of creatinine, kidney to body weight ratio and in particular, markedly decreased 24-h urine microalbuminuria excretion. SPRC suppressed the mRNA expression of fibronectin and type IV collagen. In vitro, SPRC inhibited mesangial cells over-proliferation and hypertrophy induced by high glucose. Additionally, SPRC attenuated inflammation in diabetic kidneys. SPRC also reduced transforming growth factor β1 (TGF-β1) signaling and expression of phosphorylated Smad3 (p-Smad3) pathway. Moreover, SPRC inhibited phosphorylation of ERK, p38 protein. Taken together, SPRC was demonstrated to be a potential therapeutic candidate to suppress diabetic nephropathy.

Topics: Animals; Cell Proliferation; Cell Size; Cells, Cultured; Cysteine; Diabetes Mellitus, Experimental; Diabetic Nephropathies; Extracellular Matrix; Hydrogen Sulfide; Kidney; Male; MAP Kinase Signaling System; Mesangial Cells; Nephritis; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Smad3 Protein; Transforming Growth Factor beta1