Evidence map›Paper›PMID 29067464›Full record

ArticleMolecular medicine reports2017

Protective effect of berberine on renal fibrosis caused by diabetic nephropathy.

Zhong Li, Wei Zhang

Open access · hybridAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Molecular medicine reports, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 27 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
27citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
2.4field-weighted citation impact, top 11% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

27 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 50 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Review
  4. Berberine inhibits ISG15 and pyroptosis to attenuate diabetic kidney disease inflammation and fibrosis.Apoptosis : an international journal on programmed cell death · 2026
    Article
  5. Review
  6. Article
  7. Article
  8. Review
  9. Article
  10. Article
  11. A Review ofMolecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023
    Review
  12. Review
  13. Article
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  15. Article
  16. Review
  17. Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

2 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Zhong LiThe Clinical Teaching and Research Department, School of Zhang Zhongjing Traditional Chinese Medicine, Nanyang Institute of Technology, Nanyang, Henan 473004, P.R. China.
Wei ZhangThe Clinical Teaching and Research Department, School of Zhang Zhongjing Traditional Chinese Medicine, Nanyang Institute of Technology, Nanyang, Henan 473004, P.R. China.
Nanyang Institute of Technology · CN

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Berberine (BBR) is a material extracted from Chinese herbs, which has been used in the treatment of diabetes in Chinese medicine for thousands of years. However, the importance of BBR in renal fibrosis remains to be elucidated. In the present study, streptozotocin‑induced diabetic nephropathy (DN) rats were used to determine the effect of BBR on renal fibrosis. The pathology of the kidneys was examined using periodic acid‑Schiff (PAS) and Masson staining. The expression levels of transforming growth factor‑β (TGF‑β) and α smooth muscle actin (α‑SMA) in kidneys were observed using immunohistochemical staining. The mRNA and protein expression levels of TGF‑β, α‑SMA, vimentin, nuclear factor‑κB were examined using reverse transcription‑quantitative polymerase chain reaction and western blotting, respectively. PAS and Masson staining revealed that there was notable glomerular hypertrophy and mesangial matrix expansion in DN rats. Immunohistochemistry revealed that there was a significant increase in TGF‑β and α‑SMA expression levels in the renal tubulointerstitium and the extracellular matrix. However, treatment with BBR may significantly reduce kidney injury. The protein and mRNA expression levels of TGF‑β, vimentin and α‑SMA were significantly increased in DN rats compared with the control group; however, this increase was reduced following treatment with BBR. The present study revealed that BBR may inhibit fibrosis and ameliorate the symptoms of DN. The current findings indicated that BBR may be used as a potential treatment for patients with DN.

Indexed as

ActinsAnimalsBerberineBlood Urea NitrogenCreatinineDiabetes Mellitus, ExperimentalDiabetic NephropathiesDrugs, Chinese HerbalFibrosisKidneyMaleNF-kappa BProtective AgentsRatsRats, WistarStreptozocinActa2 protein, ratActinsBerberineCreatinineDrugs, Chinese HerbalNF-kappa BProtective AgentsStreptozocinTransforming Growth Factor betaVimentin

Identifiers

PMID29067464
PMCPMC5562073
OpenAlexW2621784656

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.