Chronic inhibition of nuclear factor kappa B attenuates aldosterone/salt-induced renal injury

AimsRecent studies suggested that nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) plays a key role in the pathogenesis of renal injury. This study investigated whether NF-κB inhibition attenuates progressive renal damage in aldosterone/salt-induced renal injury and its mechanisms.Main methodsAdult male rats were uninephrectomized and treated with one of the following for 4 weeks: vehicle (0.5% ethanol, subcutaneously); vehicle/1% NaCl (1% NaCl in drinking solution); aldosterone/1% NaCl (1% NaCl in drinking solution and aldosterone, 0.75 μg/h, subcutaneously); or aldosterone/1%NaCl + pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate (PDTC), an inhibitor of NF-κB (100 mg/kg/day, by gavage). The activity of NF-κB was measured by EMSA and immunohistochemistry, CTGF and ICAM-1 were measured by Western blot and real-time PCR, and TGF-β and CTGF were measured by immunohistochemistry.Key findingsRats that received aldosterone/1% NaCl exhibited hypertension and severe renal injury. Renal cortical mRNA levels of CTGF, TGF-β, ICAM-1 and collagen IV, protein expression of CTGF and ICAM-1, and NF-κB–DNA binding activity were significantly upregulated in rats that received aldosterone/1% NaCl. Treatment with PDTC significantly decreased the percentage of cells positive for CTGF and TGF-β; mRNA levels of CTGF, TGF-β, ICAM-1 and collagen IV, and protein levels of CTGF and ICAM-1 were also inhibited by PDTC.SignificanceThese data suggest that the NF-κB signal pathway plays a role in the progression of aldosterone/salt-induced renal injury.