Hirudin ameliorates immunoglobulin A nephropathy by inhibition of fibrosis and inflammatory response.

Immunoglobulin A nephropathy (IgAN) is characterized by mesangial IgA and IgG co-deposition. As the clinical course of IgAN is highly variable, a lot of patients will eventually develop to end-stage renal disease (ESRD) within years. Hirudin, a potent and specific thrombin inhibitor, has been reported to treat IgAN with hematuria, but the mechanism is unclear. Our study aims to explore the potential of hirudin and the underlying mechanism in the treatment of IgAN. The establishment of IgAN model was set up in rats through oral and intravenous immunization with bovine gamma-globulin (BGG). Results suggested that hirudin could reduce the increased level of proteinuria, serum creatinine and urea nitrogen in IgAN models. Besides that, hirudin ameliorated the elevated number of apoptotic bodies and expressions of apoptosis-related proteins (caspase-3 and caspase-9) in IgAN model. The fibrosis indexes (transforming growth factor β-1 (TGF-β1), Collagen-IV (CoI-IV) and Fibronectin-1) of kidney were remarkably suppressed in IgAN rats treated with hirudin compared with IgAN rats with no further treatment. IgAN rats exhibited remarkably increased inflammatory factors (IL-1β, IL-6, and IL-18), while hirudin treatment significantly alleviated these alterations. Moreover, the reduced levels of CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ Treg and CD4+IFN-γ+ Th1/CD4+IL-4+ Th2 could be reversed by hirudin in IgAN model. Furthermore, in the process of IgAN, hirudin could inactivate various pathways (IκBα, NF-κB, TNF-α, and VCAM-1) compared with IgAN model group. Taken together, our study indicated that hirudin could ameliorate IgAN through suppressing fibrosis and inflammatory response. These findings provide a new therapeutic method to treat IgAN.

Introduction

Immunoglobulin A nephropathy (IgAN) is the most prevalent primary glomerular disease. The histopathologic characteristics of IgAN include active lesions, active lesions and interstitial fibrosis [1]. Although, various therapeutic regimens were applied to the treatment of IgAN, a portion of patients would eventually progress to end-stage renal disease (ESRD) with high mortality [2]. Therefore, a feasible and effective therapeutic method to cure IgAN is urgently needed.

Hirudin, a secreted polypeptide extracted from a Chinese medicinal leech, was viewed as the most potent natural inhibitor of thrombin. Hirudin participates in various pharmacological activities, including anti-cancer, anti-coagulant, and lowering blood lipids. Accumulated researches have indicated that hirudin played a vital role in numerous diseases such as human glioma [3], streptozotocin-induced diabetic cataracts [4], and Alzheimer’s disease [5]. Besides that, hirudin has also been reported to treat IgAN with hematuria [6]. However, the therapeutic mechanism is not clear.

Evidence has shown that IgAN is characterized by the imbalance of immune system and the dysfunction of T cells implicated in pathogenesis of IgAN [7]. Besides that, lots of pro-inflammatory cytokines were triggered in the development of IgAN [8]. Therefore, how to properly regulate immune system to control inflammatory reaction is one of the main problems in treating IgAN. According to some researchers, hirudin played a vital role in the regulation of T cell proliferative response [9]. Moreover, hirudin has been reported to block NF-κB [10], TNF-α [11], IκBα [12] signaling pathway, thus suppressing the inflammatory response. These studies illustrated the potentials of hirudin in the treatment of IgAN through regulating the immune system balance.

The severity of segmental glomerular sclerosis and interstitial fibrosis is one of the most important prognostic factors of IgAN [13,14]. Some studies have demonstrated the positive effect of hirudin on pulmonary fibrosis [11,15]. This suggested the promising of hirudin in treating interstitial fibrosis of IgAN.

In our study, we explored the possible therapeutic effects of hirudin on IgAN and the underling mechanisms in vivo. Healthy and IgAN rats were treated with hirudin. Results suggested that hirudin could alleviate kidney interstitial fibrosis and inflammatory response, thus ameliorating IgAN.

Material and methods

Animal ethics

SPF Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats (aged six week old) were purchased from Experimental Animal Center of University of Electronic Science and Technology of China. The design of this experiment is approved by Institutional Animal Ethical Committee of University of Electronic Science and Technology of China. The study was operated in accordance with the guidelines of the Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care, International.

Experimental design and animal model

The IgAN model was generated as described before [16]. Briefly, rats received intravenous tail injection of 1 mg bovine gamma-globulin (BGG) for three successive days. Then, BGG switched to the oral route for 8 successive weeks. Thirty-two SPF SD rats were randomly divided into four groups (n = 8). Control group: healthy rats; hirudin group: healthy rats were administered with hirudin by gavage (10 mg·kg−1·day−1) for 4 weeks; model group: IgAN model rats; IgAN + hirudin group: IgAN rats were administered with hirudin by gavage for 4 weeks. After that, all rats were weighted and sacrificed by excessive anesthetic. Blood samples, 24 h proteinuria and kidneys perfusing with saline were collected for the next experiments.

Biochemical parameters analysis

Coomassie Brilliant Blue assay was performed to detect proteinuria as described before [17]. The levels of urea nitrogen and serum creatinine were measured using available commercial kits (Hayward, CA) according to standard protocols.

HE staining

Kidney samples were fixed in 4% paraformaldehyde and embedded in paraffin. Then, 4 μm sections of kidney samples were prepared. All samples were stained with hematoxylin–eosin (HE) according to standard protocol. The pathology of IgAN kidney was observed under optical microscope (Olympus, Osaka, Japan).

Terminal-deoxynucleotidyl transferase mediated nick end labeling (TUNEL) staining

The apoptotic enhancement in IgAN kidney was measured by TUNEL assay. The assay was performed using In Situ Cell Death Detection Kit™ (Roche, Basel, Switzerland) as previously described [18]. The apoptotic enhancement was identified by the number of TUNEL positive signals under light microscope (Olympus, Osaka, Japan).

Immunohistochemistry assay

After dewaxing, hydration, and antigen retrieval, the IgAN kidney section samples were incubated with anti-caspase-3, anti-caspase-9, anti-TGF-β1, anti-CoI-IV, anti-Fibronectin-1, anti-IL-1β, anti-IL-6, and anti-IL-8 (Santa Cruz Biotechnology Inc, Santa Cruz, CA) overnight at 4 °C. Then, samples were incubated with biotin-labeled secondary antibody (Abcam, Cambridge, UK, 1:10,000) for 30 min at room temperature. Images were captured using light microscopy.

Western blot assay

The IgAN kidney tissue samples were saved in liquid nitrogen until homogenization. Proteins were extracted from the homogenated samples and separated by 10% SDS-PAGE and then transferred onto polyvinylidene fluoride membranes (Millipore, Boston, MA). After blocking and washing, membranes were incubated with primary antibodies for anti-TGF-β1, anti-Col-IV, anti-Fibronectin-1, anti-IKB-α, anti-NFκb, anti-TNFα, anti-VCAM-1, and anti-GAPDH (Santa Cruz Biotechnology Inc, Santa Cruz, CA) over night at 4 °C. Afterward, samples were incubated with secondary antibodies for 1.5 h at room temperature. Gray values were detected by Immobilon Western Chemiluminescent HRP Substrate (Millipore, Boston, MA).

Enzyme-linked immuno sorbent (ELISA) assay

Elisa kits (R&D Systems, Minneapolis, MN) were used to detect the following inflammatory cytokines (IL-β, IL-6, and IL-18) in serum. ELISA assays were performed strictly according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Flow cytometry assay

Peripheral blood samples were extracted from rats of each group. The percentage of CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ Treg in T cells and CD4+IFN-γ+Th1/CD4+IL-4+Th2 were evaluated by flow cytometry, and the experimental procedure was performed as described elsewhere [19].

Statistical analysis

Data were expressed as mean standard deviation (SD). Statistical significance of this research was analyzed using one-way ANOVA. The difference was considered statistically significant at p< .05.

Results

Effect of hirudin on functional parameters in BGG-induced IgAN model

The structure of hirudin is shown in Figure 1(A). The functional parameters in each group were detected. Results showed that there was no significant difference in body weight between groups. However, the levels of proteinuria, serum creatinine and urea nitrogen in IgAN model group were increased compared with control groups. In addition, the three functional parameters were decreased in IgAN + hirudin group compared with IgAN model group (Figure 1(B)). These results demonstrated that hirudin can alleviate BGG-induced IgAN.

Figure 1.

Hirudin alleviated BGG-induced IgAN via reducing cell apoptosis. Rats were randomly divided into four groups. Healthy control group: healthy rats; control + hirudin group: healthy rats were treated with hirudin; IgAN model group: BGG-induced IgAN rats; hirudin group: BGG-induced IgAN rats treated with hirudin. (A) The structure of hirudin. (B) Functional parameters (body weight, proteinuria, serum creatinine, and urea nitrogen) were detected in each group. (C) HE staining. (D) The number of apoptotic bodies was measured using TUNEL assay in kidney tissue. (E) The expressions of apoptosis-related proteins (caspase-3 and caspase-9) were analyzed by immunohistochemical assay in kidney tissue. Experiments were repeated at least three times, and error bars represent ± SD (*p< .05, ***p< .001 versus control group; #p< .05 versus IgAN model group).

Hirudin suppress cell apoptosis in IgAN model

To explore the impact of hirudin on cell apoptosis in IgAN model, apoptotic body and apoptosis-related proteins were investigated. As shown in Figure 1(D), the number of apoptotic bodies was significantly increased in IgAN model group in comparison with control groups. However, cell apoptosis caused by IgAN was suppressed by hirudin. Similarly, the expression levels of apoptosis-related proteins (caspase-3 and caspase-9) were elevated in IgAN model group compared with control groups (Figure 1(E)). Nevertheless, hirudin could reduce the enhanced expressions of caspase-3 and caspase-9 in IgAN model. These results indicated that hirudin could inhibit cell apoptosis in IgAN model.

Hirudin decreased renal fibrosis in IgAN

To investigate the anti-fibrosis effect of hirudin, fibrosis indexes (TGF-β1, CoI-IV, and Fibronectin-1) were evaluated by immunohistochemical assay. As illustrated in Figure 2(A), the levels of TGF-β1, CoI-IV and Fibronectin-1 were remarkably enhanced in IgAN model group compared with control group. In addition, the expressions of the three fibrosis indexes were significantly reduced in IgAN rats treated with hirudin compared with IgAN rat with no further treatment. A similar result is illustrated in Figure 2(B). The results indicated that hirudin could attenuate renal fibrosis in IgAN rats.

Figure 2.

Hirudin suppressed renal fibrosis in IgAN. Rats were randomly divided into four groups. Healthy control group: healthy rats; control + hirudin group: healthy rats were treated with hirudin; IgAN model group: BGG-induced IgAN rats; hirudin group: BGG-induced IgAN rats treated with hirudin. (A) The levels of fibrosis-related proteins (TGF-β1, CoI-IV and Fibronectin-1) were analyzed by immunohistochemical assay in kidney tissue. (B) The expressions of fibrosis-related proteins (TGF-β1, CoI-IV and Fibronectin-1) were detected using western-blot in kidney tissue. Experiments were repeated at least three times, and error bars represent ± SD (*p< .05 versus control group; #p< .05 versus IgAN model group).

Hirudin reduced inflammatory reaction in IgAN

To identify the anti-inflammatory property of hirudin, inflammatory factors (IL-1β, IL-6, and IL-18) in serum were detected using ELISA. Results suggested that the expressions of IL-1β, IL-6, and IL-18 were profoundly increased in IgAN model group compared with control groups. However, the levels of the three inflammatory factors could be reduced by hirudin in IgAN + hirudin group in comparison with IgAN model group (Figure 3(A)). These results suggested that hirudin could suppress inflammatory response in IgAN rats.

Figure 3.

Hirudin regulated immune system to control inflammatory response and keep T cell balance. Rats were randomly divided into four groups. Healthy control group: healthy rats; control + hirudin group: healthy rats were treated with hirudin; IgAN model group: BGG-induced IgAN rats; hirudin group: BGG-induced IgAN rats treated with hirudin. (A) The levels of inflammatory cytokines (IL-1β, IL-6 and IL-18) in serum were investigated through ELISA. (B) Flow cytometry was used to explore the percentage of CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ Treg in T cells. (C) The balance of CD4+IFN-γ Th1/CD4+IL-4+ Th2 was measured by flow cytometry. Experiments were repeated at least three times, and error bars represent ± SD. (*p< .05 versus control group; #p< .05 versus IgAN model group).

Hirudin maintained balance of T cells in IgAN model

To detect the effect of hirudin on the balance of T cells in IgAN model, the productions of CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ Treg and CD4+IFN-γ+ Th1/CD4+IL-4+ Th2 were measured using flow cytometry. As shown in Figure 3(C), the decreased production of CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ Treg caused by BGG in IgAN model group could be reversed by hirudin (Figure 3(B)). Similarly, the production of Th1/Th2 was significantly inhibited in IgAN model group compared with control groups. However, hirudin elevated Th1/Th2 production in IgAN + hirudin group in comparison with IgAN model group (Figure 3(C)). These findings indicated that hirudin plays an important role in the regulation of the balance of T cells.

Hirudin was involved in the inactivation of various signaling pathways

During the course of IgAN, various signaling pathways about inflammatory response were activated. To determine whether hirudin was associated to these pathways, western-blot was used to detect the related proteins. As illustrated in Figure 4, the expressions of p-IκBα, NF-κB p65, TNF-α, and VCAM-1 were remarkably enhanced in IgAN model group compared with control groups. The levels of the four proteins were reduced by hirudin in IgAN + hirudin group in comparison with IgAN model group. These results demonstrated that hirudin could inactivate various signaling pathways to control inflammatory reaction.

Figure 4.

Hirudin was involved in the inactivation of various signaling pathways. Rats were randomly divided into four groups. Healthy control group: healthy rats; control + hirudin group: healthy rats were treated with hirudin; IgAN model group: BGG-induced IgAN rats; hirudin group: BGG-induced IgAN rats treated with hirudin. (A) The expression levels of p-IκBα, NF-κB p65, TNF-α and VCAM-1 were evaluated using western-blot in kidney tissue. (B) Histogram represents the statistical analysis of the expressions of p-IκBα, NF-κB p65, TNF-α, and VCAM-1 according to the results of western blot. Experiments were repeated at least three times, and error bars represent ± SD. (*p< .05 versus control group; #p< .05 versus IgAN model group).

Discussion

IgAN is identified as the most common form of primary glomerulonephritis worldwide. One of the most remarkable features of IgAN is the activation of pro-inflammatory and pro-fibrotic mediators [20]. Therefore, controlling the inflammatory reaction and kidney interstitial fibrosis may be a vital target in the treatment of IgAN.

So far, some Chinese herbs were demonstrated to benefit for the treatment of IgAN according to published researches. Shen et al. demonstrated the basic therapeutic mechanism of Guobentongluo decoction in treating IgAN [21]. In addition, icariin could also mitigate IgAN through inhibiting NF-κb/Nlrp3 signaling pathway [19]. Furthermore, hirudin has been reported to have superiority in alleviating hematuresis and urine protein compared with dipyridamole in IgAN patients [6]. A similar result was drawn in our research, hematuresis and urine protein could be significantly reduced by hirudin in IgAN rats. Besides that, hirudin could further decrease the levels of serum creatinine and blood urea nitrogen. These results illustrated the protective effects of hirudin on IgAN.

The apoptosis of renal cells would aggravate renal damage in IgAN patients [22]. Thus, reducing renal cells apoptosis is one of the most important segments during the treatment of the IgAN. Gugerell et al. observed that inhibiting of thrombin activity by hirudin result in the reduction of cleaved caspase-3 and cleaved caspase-7 in human keratinocytes [23]. Besides that, some researchers pointed out that pretreatment of dorsal motor nucleus of vagus neurons with hirudin could alleviate the apoptotic effect of thrombin [18]. A similar result was drawn in our research, hirudin could effectively reduce the numbers of apoptotic bodies through decreasing the expression levels of cleaved caspase-3 and cleaved caspase-9.

It has been demonstrated that IgAN development and renal fibrosis are closely related [24]. Therefore, renal fibrosis should be treated vigorously to prevent the condition from getting worse. Studies show that thrombin have an impact on the deposition of connective tissue proteins during the development of tissue fibrosis through promoting fibroblast procollagen production [25]. As a typical inhibitor of thrombin, hirudin was implicated in treating lung fibrosis according to Bao et al. [11]. In addition, hirudin could inhibit gingiva fibrosis via suppressing the expression levels of fibrogenic cytokine (TGF-β1) while increasing the level of bFGF [26]. However, never the anti-fibrosis effect of hirudin has been studied in IgAN patients. In this research, results displayed that hirudin could suppress kidney fibrosis by means of decreasing the expression of TGF-β1 and Fibronectin-1 with the deposition of CoI-IV.

During the development of IgAN, several inflammation-related signaling pathways were activated and plenty of inflammatory cytokines were released [27]. The continuance of inflammation would drive IgAN progression and eventually leads to renal damage. Accumulated studies have indicated the anti-inflammatory effect of hirudin. According to Peng et al., hirudin could suppress inflammatory reaction to enhance skin flap viability via inactivating PARs/p38/NF-κB signaling pathway [10]. In addition to this, the release of TNF-α and MMP12 would be inhibited by hirudin via reducing the production of protease activated receptor-1 [11]. Moreover, hirudin could attenuate the phosphorylation of IκBα caused by thrombin [12]. Coincidentally, hirudin was frequently reported to be involved in anti-inflammatory actions by decreasing cytokine expression and leukocyte infiltration [28,29]. Similarly, in this research, we found that hirudin could strongly inactivate the pro-inflammatory signaling pathways (NF-κB, TNF-α, IκBα, and VCAM-1). Moreover, the expression levels of pro-inflammatory factors (IL-1β, IL-6, and IL-8) were remarkably reduced by hirudin.

As a common immune disease, the pathogenesis of IgAN is always related to the disorders of T cells. According to published reports, serious renal dysfunctions are inclined to produce more CD4+IL-4+Th2 than mild disease in IgAN patients [30]. Besides that, CD4+IFN-γ Th1 was found to be elevated in IgAN patients compared with healthy people [31]. Therefore, recovering the balance of Th1/Th2 may be a major target in the treatment of IgAN. It is well known that CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ Treg cells are important to maintain the tolerance via reducing the activation and proliferation of autoreactive T cells [32]. Moreover, CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ Treg cells take responsible for the balance of Th1/Th2 level [33]. Thus, the regulation of CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ Treg cells in IgAN patients is of great importance. Hirudin which was reported to be associated with T cell proliferative response [9] may work on this regulation. In the study, we demonstrated that CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ Treg cells and Th1/Th2 cells were significantly decreased in the peripheral blood of IgAN rats compared with healthy rats. However, hirudin could alleviate the down-regulation of CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ Treg cells and Th1/Th2 level. The results above suggested that hirudin could defend patients against IgAN through maintaining the balance of immune system.

All in all, this study illustrated that hirudin could improve IgAN by reducing the level of urinary protein, serum creatinine and urea nitrogen. In addition, hirudin reduced cell apoptosis, fibrosis of kidney and inflammatory response and kept balance of T cells. This study may provide a new therapeutic approach for the treatment of IgAN and informative data to understand the mechanism of hirudin worked on IgAN. In the meantime, the research made a step forward to help hirudin translate towards clinical trials.

Limitations

Due to the limitation of equipment and fund, we did not evaluate mesangial proliferation and mesangial IgA deposits. We evaluated the functional parameters including proteinuria, serum creatinine and urea nitrogen, meanwhile HE staining and expression of TGF-β1 can also reflect the level of renal damage caused IgA. Meanwhile, further studies need to be done for hirudin to clarify which pathway is involved in this regulation.