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Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine >

2025 , Vol. 45 >Issue 5: 1028 - 1039

DOI: https://doi.org/10.19852/j.cnki.jtcm.2025.05.009

Original Articles

Dampness syndrome aggravates T helper 17/regulatory T imbalance to promote renal injury in rats with experimental membranous nephropathy

  • Wenjun SHAN ,
  • Haowen GU ,
  • Haiyu GUAN ,
  • Ping LI ,
  • Yi WANG ,
  • Miaoru HAN ,
  • Houchun WANG ,
  • Xiaoyan HUANG ,
  • Kun BAO
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  • 1 Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou 510145, China
    2 State Key Laboratory of Dampness Syndrome of Chinese Medicine, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou 510006, China
    3 Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Joint Lab on Chinese Medicine and Immune Disease Research, Guangzhou 510006, China
    4 Nephrology Department, Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou 510006, China
    5 Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Chinese Medicine for Prevention and Treatment of Refractory Chronic Disease, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou 510006, China
SHAN Wenjun and GU Haowen are co-first authors and contributed equally to this work

Received date: 2024-09-12

  Accepted date: 2025-01-14

  Online published: 2025-09-15

Supported by

Special Project of State Key Laboratory of Dampness Syndrome of Chinese Medicine: a Randomized Controlled Clinical Study of Sanqi Qushi Granules in the Treatment of Membranous Nephropathy(SZ2021ZZ36);a Cohort Study on the Pathogenesis and Evolution of Dampness Syndrome in Idiopathic Membranous Nephropathy and Its Material Basis(SZ2021ZZ09);the National Natural Science Foundation of China: Research on the Role of Damp Nephropathy based on the Metabolic Disorders-T helper 17/Regulatory T Imbalance Evil in the Progression of Membranous(81974565);the Guangzhou Science and Technology Plan Project: Exploring the Mechanism of Treating Membranous Nephropathy based on Dampness from the Perspective of Regulating Amino Acid Metabolism Disorders(2023A03J0746);Multi-omics Study to Explore the Material Basis of Dampness Syndrome in Membranous Nephropathy and the Intervention Mechanism of Sanqi Qushi Decoction(2024A03J0117);a Multimodal Machine Learning Prediction Model based on Pathological Images, Transcriptomics and Traditional Chinese Medicine Syndromes to Explore the Prognosis-related lncRNA Molecules of Membranous Nephropathy and the Intervention Mechanism of Sanqi Qushi Decoction(2025A03J4062);Research Project of Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine: Construction of a Risk Management Prediction Model for Membranous Nephropathy Based on Artificial Intelligence Technology(YN2023HL03);Study on the Pathogenesis Evolution and Microbiological Mechanism of Membranous Nephropathy with Dampness Syndrome Based on the Changes of Tongue Coating Microecology(YN2023MB10);Post-doctoral Research Project of Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Chinese Medicine: Study on the Mechanism of Yinyang Shengmai Method in Regulating Myocardial Infarction in Diabetic Rats based on Ang/Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor-Mediated Angiogenesis(10814);Funding Project of Guangdong Provincial Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine: Study on the Mechanism of "Dampness Stagnation in Blood Collaterals" inducing Vascular Aging Based on Oxidative Stress-inflammation Crosstalk and Intervention of Traditional Chinese Medicine(20233021);China Postdoctoral Science Foundation Funded Project: Study on the Mechanism of Shenmai Injection in Promoting Angiogenesis after Myocardial Infarction in Rats with Qi and Yin Deficiency Type Diabetic Nephropathy(2023M730810)

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Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To examine the T helper 17 (Th17)/regulatory T (Treg) immune balance in passive Heymann nephritis (PHN) rats with dampness syndrome (DS).

METHODS: Rats were divided into four groups: normal control (NC), PHN model, PHN + DS model, and DS model. The DS model was created by administering lard, a 60% cold sucrose solution, and Chinese Baijiu viagavage. In contrast, PHN was induced in male Sprague-Dawley rats by injecting anti-Fx1A serum into the tail vein. The general condition of the rats was assessed, while the levels of urine protein, albumin, and serum creatinine were measured using commercially available kits. Pathological renal damage was evaluated using hematoxylin and eosin, periodic acid-schiff, and periodic acid-silver methenamine staining, while podocyte damage was assessed through immunohistochemistry. The proportions of Th17 cells and Treg cells in peripheral blood mononuclear cells were quantified by flow cytometry. Plasma cytokine levels of interleukin 17, transforming growth factor-β1, and interleukin 6 were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

RESULTS: This study demonstrated a significant increase in proteinuria and total cholesterol levels in PHN rats with DS, along with more severe histopathological kidney damage. DS exacerbated podocyte damage in PHN rats. Additionally, the number of Treg cells was significantly reduced, while the ratio of Th17/Treg cells was significantly elevated in PHN rats with DS.

CONCLUSION: In conclusion, the findings of our study indicate that the presence of DS exacerbates renal injury in PHN, a rat model used to simulate experimental membranous nephropathy. This observation may be closely linked to the exacerbation of the Th17/Treg imbalance and podocyte injury in PHN rats induced by DS.

Key words： glomerulonephritis, membranous; Th17 cells; T-lymphocytes, regulatory; dampness syndrome

Cite this article

Wenjun SHAN , Haowen GU , Haiyu GUAN , Ping LI , Yi WANG , Miaoru HAN , Houchun WANG , Xiaoyan HUANG , Kun BAO . Dampness syndrome aggravates T helper 17/regulatory T imbalance to promote renal injury in rats with experimental membranous nephropathy[J]. Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 2025 , 45(5) : 1028 -1039 . DOI: 10.19852/j.cnki.jtcm.2025.05.009

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