ArticlePloS one2025
Rubus coreanus extract prevents kidney fibrosis through TGF-β/Smad pathway inhibition.
Article in PloS one, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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Abstract
Rubus coreanus has been found to have various health benefits including anti-oxidative effects. In this study, we aimed to investigate the efficacy of water-soluble extract of Rubus coreanus (MN705) in preventing kidney fibrosis in a mouse model of unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO) and in an in vitro model of TGF-β-challenged HK-2 cells. Male C57BL/6 mice (7 weeks old) were randomly assigned to the sham/vehicle (distilled water), sham/MN705 (600 mg/kg/day), UUO/vehicle, UUO/MN705-low dose (300 mg/kg/day), and UUO/MN705-high dose (600 mg/kg/day) groups. After 7 days of pre-treatment, sham or UUO operation was performed, and treatment drugs were administered at the same dose for 7 days. In addition, HK-2 cells and human renal proximal tubular epithelial cells were cultured and challenged with TGF-β (2 ng/ml) with or without an extract of Rubus coreanus (0.05-0.2 mg/ml). In the histopathological specimen of Masson's trichrome stain, areas of kidney interstitial fibrosis were attenuated in the treatment group (10.6 ± 1.3% area vs. 17.2 ± 2.3% area, P < 0.001). In the western blot analysis, protein abundance of α-SMA (12.9 ± 5.9 vs. 19.8 ± 3.1 fold changes compared to sham group, P = 0.046) significantly decreased in the treatment group. In the in vitro experiment, HK-2 cells treated with TGF-β and MN705 showed a dose-dependent significant decrease in the protein expression of fibronectin and phospho-Smad2/3 with increase of MnSOD. The extract of Rubus coreanus attenuates kidney fibrosis in the UUO mouse model and TGF-β-treated human kidney proximal tubular cells. TGF-β-related Smad and Smurf signaling pathways involved in the development of fibrosis are effectively inhibited through extract of Rubus coreanus and can be a potential target for prevention of kidney fibrosis.
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