Echinochrome A Reverses Kidney Abnormality and Reduces Blood Pressure in a Rat Model of Preeclampsia

Mar Drugs. 2022 Nov 17;20(11):722. doi: 10.3390/md20110722.

Abstract

We aimed to observe the effects of Echinochrome A (Ech A) on systemic changes using a rat model of preeclampsia. The results showed that an infusion of angiotensin II (Ang II) through an osmotic pump (1 μg/kg/min) on GD 8 increased systolic and diastolic blood pressures and reduced fetal weight and placental weight. The diameters of the glomeruli were expended and glomeruli capillaries were diminished. No change was observed in the heart and liver in the Ang II group, but epithelial structures were disrupted in the uterus. Ech A treatment on GD 14 (100 μg/μL) through the jugular vein reduced systolic and diastolic blood pressures and reversed glomerulus alterations, but the fetal or placental parameters were unaffected. Ech A only partly reversed the effect on the uterus. The mRNA expression of TNF-α was increased and IL-10 and VEGF were reduced in the uterus of the Ang II group, while Ech A restored these changes. A similar trend was observed in the kidney, liver, and heart of this group. Furthermore, Bcl-2 was reduced and Bcl-2/Bax ratios were significantly reduced in the kidney and heart of the Ang II group, while Ech A reversed these changes. We suggest that Ech A modulates inflammation and apoptosis in key systemic organs in Ang II-induced rat preeclampsia and preserves kidney and uterus structures and reduces blood pressure.

Keywords: Echinochrome A; TNF–α; angiotensin II; apoptosis; blood pressure; kidney; preeclampsia.

MeSH terms

  • Angiotensin II
  • Animals
  • Blood Pressure
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Kidney
  • Placenta
  • Pre-Eclampsia* / drug therapy
  • Pregnancy
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2
  • Rats

Substances

  • echinochrome A
  • Angiotensin II
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2

Grants and funding

This work is supported by the Korean National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korean government (MSIT) (NRF-2019R1A2C1005720), the Korean Hypertension Society (2021), the BK21 FOUR education program, and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC 31660284, NSFC 31860288).