ArticleMolecular medicine reports2019
Acupuncture attenuates renal interstitial fibrosis via the TGF‑β/Smad pathway.
Article in Molecular medicine reports, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers.
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Who cites it
14 citing papers in PubMed, 14 citations in OpenAlex.
- Chinese Medicine for Renal Fibrosis Prevention and Treatment in Chronic Kidney Disease: Pharmacological Mechanisms and Therapeutic Potential.Chinese journal of integrative medicine · 2026Review
- Fatty acid metabolism: opportunities and challenges of traditional Chinese medicine in the treatment of renal fibrosis.Chinese medicine · 2026Review
- Characterization and Clinical Diagnostic Potential of IHRDEGs in Renal Interstitial Fibrosis: An Integrative Data Analysis and Model Construction Study.Journal of inflammation research · 2026Article
- Acupuncture in Uterine Fibroids Management: Literature Update on Frequently Used Acupoints and the Underlying Mechanism-A Narrative Review.Health science reports · 2025Review
- Laminar CD34+ membranous cells with mechanosensitive properties in subcutaneous fascia of the abdominal midline.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Klotho enhances stability of chronic kidney disease atherosclerotic plaques by inhibiting GRK2/PLC-β-mediated endoplasmic reticulum stress in macrophages via modulation of the ROS/SHP1 pathway.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Antioxidant therapy against TGF-β/SMAD pathway involved in organ fibrosis.Journal of cellular and molecular medicine · 2024Review
- Chronic heat stress induces renal fibrosis and mitochondrial dysfunction in laying hens.Journal of animal science and biotechnology · 2023Article
- Sexual dimorphism in acute myocardial infarction-induced acute kidney injury: cardiorenal deteriorating effects of ovariectomy in premenopausal female mice.Clinical science (London, England : 1979) · 2023Article
- Chitosan oligosaccharide alleviates renal fibrosis through reducing oxidative stress damage and regulating TGF-β1/Smads pathway.Scientific reports · 2022Article
- Mechanisms underlying acupuncture therapy in chronic kidney disease: A narrative overview of preclinical studies and clinical trials.Frontiers in nephrology · 2022Review
- Role of NOD-Like Receptors in a Miniature Pig Model of Diabetic Renal Injuries.Mediators of inflammation · 2022Article
- Electroacupuncture Alleviates Inflammation of Dry Eye Diseases by Regulating theOxidative medicine and cellular longevity · 2021Article
- The aqueous extract of Lycopus lucidus Turcz exerts protective effects on podocytes injury of diabetic nephropathy via inhibiting TGF-β1 signal pathway.American journal of translational research · 2019Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Acupuncture is one of the most useful tools in complimentary medicine, and has demonstrated potential value for treating chronic renal failure (CRF). However, the underlying mechanisms for its therapeutic effect remain unknown. In the present study, the effects of acupuncture on renal interstitial fibrosis (RIF) were explored in a rabbit model of CRF. Rabbits were assigned to the following five groups: sham, model, losartan potassium (Posi), acupuncture (Acup) and acupuncture+inhibitor (Acup+Inhib) groups. The CRF rabbits were administered a drug or/and acupuncture on Shenshu, Mingmen and Pishu. The body weights, urine protein, serum creatinine (SCr) and blood urea nitrogen (BUN) levels of the rabbits were measured. Transforming growth factor β (TGF‑β), integrin‑linked kinase (ILK) and Smad3 expression were detected by qRT‑PCR. Tumor necrosis factor‑α (TNF‑α) and endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) expression were analyzed by western blot methods. The concentrations of TGF‑β, IL‑8, TNF‑α and IL‑1β in blood serum were detected using ELISA kits. In addition, pathological characteristics of the rabbit tissues were evaluated by H&E and Masson's trichrome staining methods, and TGF‑β expression was detected by immunohistochemistry (IHC) assays. Results showing decreased body weights and increased urine protein, SCr and BUN levels confirmed that the CRF model had been successfully constructed. It was also found that acupuncture significantly reduced the levels of TNF‑α, Smad3, ILK and TGF‑β expression, dramatically decreased the concentrations of TGF‑β, IL‑8, TNF‑α and IL‑1β in blood serum, and significantly increased eNOS expression in the CRF model rabbits by affecting the TGF‑β/Smad signaling pathway. In addition, it was demonstrated that acupuncture could relieve RIF by affecting the TGF‑β/Smad pathway. These observations indicate that acupuncture may be useful for treating CRF, and suggest the TGF‑β/Smad pathway as a target for CRF therapy.
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