Objective: To study the effect of huangqi on peritoneal sclerosis and its possible mechanism.
Methods: Isolated human peritoneal mesothelial cells (HPMC) was cultured. Cultured HPMC were treated with F12 without serum (control group), F12 with TGF-beta 1 (TGF-beta 1 group), F12 with TGF-beta 1 and huangqi 100 micrograms/ml (huangqi 1 group), F12 with TGF-beta 1 and huangqi 1 mg/ml (huangqi 2 group). Fibronectin(FN) and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) were detected by ELISA method. The expression of FN mRNA, PAI-1 mRNA and bFGF mRNA was detected by RT-PCR method.
Results: 1. HPMC expressed FN, PAI-1, and bFGF. 2. Fn and PAI-1 significantly increased compared with control with 5 ng/ml TGF-beta 1 stimulated at 24 hours and 48 hours(P < 0.05); 3. The different concentration of huangqi decreased FN and PAI-1 expression compared with TGF-beta 1 group, especially 1 mg/ml huangqi at 24 hours(P < 0.05). 4. FN, PAI-1 and bFGF mRNA expression were higher in 12 hours after stimulation with TGF-beta 1 compared with control. FN, PAI-1 and bFGF mRNA expression were lower in 12 hours after stimulation with different concentration of huangqi (100 micrograms/ml and 1 mg/ml) than those in the TGF-beta 1 group.
Conclusion: TGF-beta 1 promotes extracellular matrix synthesis and secretion of HPMC. Huangqi partly counteracts the synthesis of human peritoneal mesothelial cell's extracellular matrix by the stimulation of TGF-beta 1.