Effects of Tongxinluo capsule on p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase signal pathway in retina of diabetic mice

ZHANG Zhe; WANG Chao

doi:10.3969/j.issn.1002-7386.2015.04.007

Abstract：Objective To observe the effects of Tongxinluo capsule on p 38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (p38MAPK) signal pathway in retina of diabetic mice in order to explore the possible mechanism of the protective effect of Tongxinluo capsule on retina .Methods Forty KK/Upj-Ay mice were randomly divided into diabetes model group , diabetic model with Tongxinluo (low-dose,median-dose,high-dose) groups,with 10 mice in each group,at the same time,10 C57BL/6 mice were selected as control group .After 3 months,the mice were sacrificed and were weighed .The fasting blood glucose (FBG) was measured.The retina was subjected to HE staining.The expression levels of total p38MAPK,phosphorylated p38MAPK(p-p38MAPK),total JNK,phosphorylated JNK(p-JNK),total ERK,phosphorylated ERK(p-ERK) in retina were detected by Western blotting .Results As compared with those in control group , the average body mass and the expression levels of p-p38MAPK, p-JNK, p-ERK were significantly increased in model group .Tongxinluo capsule could relieve retinal pathological damage and reduce the expression levels of p-p38MAPK in retina of diabetic mice ( P <0.05),however,which had no effect on body weight,FBG and expression levels of p-JNK,p-ERK( P >0.05).Furthermore,there were no significant differences in the expression levels of p38MAPK,JNK and ERK proteins among groups ( P >0.05).Conclusion The p38MAPK signal pathway may be involved in the pathogenesis and development of diabetic retina injury .Tongxinluo capsule can relieve retina pathological damage in diabetic mice , which may be related with down-regulating phosphorylation of p38MAPK protein.