TY - JOUR AU - Guo Xiao-Hua AU - Liu Zhi-Hong AU - Dai Chun-Sun AU - Li Heng AU - Liu Dong AU - Li Lei-Shi PY - 2016 TI - Rhein inhibits renal tubular epithelial cell hypertrophy and extracellular matrix accumulation induced by transforming growth factor beta1 JF - Acta Pharmacologica Sinica; Vol 22, No 10 (October 2001): Acta Pharmacologica Sinica Y2 - 2016 KW - N2 - Aim: To investigate the effects of rhein on cell hypertrophy and accumulation of extracellular matrix (ECM) in the renal tubular epithelial cells. Methods: LLC-PK1 cells were incubated with transforming growth factor beta1 (TGFbeta1) 2 microg/L for 24 h to induce cell hypertrophy and production of ECM. To evaluate the effects of rhein on inhibiting the action of TGFbeta1, cell volume, cellular protein level, and [3H]leucine incorporation in LLC-PK1 cells treated with rhein at different concentrations were measured. In addition, the [3H]proline incorporation, level of fibronectin (FN) in supernatant, and mRNA expression of collagen IV and FN were also detected in rhein treated cells. Results: The cell volume, cellular protein content, and [3H]leucine incorporation were markedly increased in LLC-PK1 cells after TGFbeta1 stimulation as compared with control (P Conclusion: Rhein can inhibit cell hypertrophy and ECM accumulation in LLC-PK1 cells induced by TGFbeta1, which may partly account for the role of rhein in preventing and retarding the progression of diabetic nephropathy. UR - http://www.chinaphar.com/article/view/7654