ArticleBritish journal of pharmacology2008
Rhein reverses the diabetic phenotype of mesangial cells over-expressing the glucose transporter (GLUT1) by inhibiting the hexosamine pathway.
Article in British journal of pharmacology, 2008. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 35 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
35 citing papers in PubMed, 85 citations in OpenAlex.
- Obesity-related glomerulopathy: body mass index and proteinuria.Clinical journal of the American Society of Nephrology : CJASN · 2010Trial
- Glutamine: fructose-6-phosphate amidotransferase (GFAT) in the pathology of diseases: a review.Cell death discovery · 2025Review
- Glycosylation in kidney diseases.Precision clinical medicine · 2025Review
- O-linked β-N-acetylglucosamine (O-GlcNAc) modification: Emerging pathogenesis and a therapeutic target of diabetic nephropathy.Diabetic medicine : a journal of the British Diabetic Association · 2025Review
- Research Progress on the Positive and Negative Regulatory Effects of Rhein on the Kidney: A Review of Its Molecular Targets.Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Review
- Rhein for treating diabetes mellitus: A pharmacological and mechanistic overview.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2022Review
- Rhein Inhibits NF-Applied bionics and biomechanics · 2022Article
- Cellular targets in diabetic retinopathy therapy.World journal of diabetes · 2021Review
- Therapeutic Emergence of Rhein as a Potential Anticancer Drug: A Review of Its Molecular Targets and Anticancer Properties.Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2020Review
- Functional Metabolomics Analysis Elucidating the Metabolic Biomarker and Key Pathway Change Associated With the Chronic Glomerulonephritis and Revealing Action Mechanism of Rhein.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2020Article
- Protein profiling of SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells: The effect of rhein.Journal of biosciences · 2019Article
- Review
- Kidney-targeted drug delivery via rhein-loaded polyethyleneglycol-International journal of nanomedicine · 2018Article
- Gut Microbiota Play an Essential Role in the Antidiabetic Effects of Rhein.Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM · 2018Article
- The Inhibitory Effect of Rhein on Proliferation of High Glucose-induced Mesangial Cell Through Cell Cycle Regulation and Induction of Cell Apoptosis.Pharmacognosy magazine · 2016Article
- Hyperglycemia Induces Skin Barrier Dysfunctions with Impairment of Epidermal Integrity in Non-Wounded Skin of Type 1 Diabetic Mice.PloS one · 2016Article
- Histone Lysine Methylation in TGF-β1 Mediated p21 Gene Expression in Rat Mesangial Cells.BioMed research international · 2016Article
- A Comprehensive and System Review for the Pharmacological Mechanism of Action of Rhein, an Active Anthraquinone Ingredient.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2016Review
- Involvement of Histone Lysine Methylation in p21 Gene Expression in Rat Kidney In Vivo and Rat Mesangial Cells In Vitro under Diabetic Conditions.Journal of diabetes research · 2016Article
- Effects of Free Anthraquinones Extract from the Rhubarb on Cell Proliferation and Accumulation of Extracellular Matrix in High Glucose Cultured-Mesangial Cells.The Korean journal of physiology & pharmacology : official journal of the Korean Physiological Society and the Korean Society of Pharmacology · 2015Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
background and purposeRhein, an anthraquinone compound isolated from rhubarb, has been proved effective in treatment of experimental diabetic nephropathy (DN). To explore the mechanism of its therapeutic effect on DN, rhein was tested for its effect on the hexosamine pathway. EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH: The influence of rhein on cellular hypertrophy, fibronectin synthesis, glucose uptake, glutamine: fructose 6-phosphate aminotransferase (GFAT) activity, UDP-N-acetylglucosamine (UDP-GlcNAc) level and TGF-beta1 and p21 expression was evaluated in MCGT1 cells, a GLUT1 transgenic rat mesangial cell line. GFAT activity in normal rat mesangial cells in high glucose concentrations and in vitro was also measured. KEY
resultsSignificantly increased fibronectin synthesis, cellular hypertrophy, much higher GFAT activity and UDP-GlcNAc level and increased TGF-beta1 and p21 expression were found in MCGT1 cells cultured in normal glucose concentration. Rhein treatment decreased all these features of MCGT1 cells but did not exert a direct effect on GFAT enzymatic activity. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: There was over-activity of the hexosamine pathway in MCGT1 cells, which may explain the higher expression of TGF-beta1 and p21, the cellular hypertrophy and the increased expression of extracellular matrix (ECM) components in the cells. By inhibiting the increased activity the hexosamine pathway, rhein decreased TGF-beta1 and p21 expression and thus contributed to the decreased cellular hypertrophy and ECM synthesis. Inhibition of the hexosamine pathway may be one of the mechanism through which rhein exerts its therapeutic role in diabetic nephropathy.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.