Yi-Shen-Hua-Shi granules ameliorate renal injury via PPARγ-Klotho-mediated metabolic restoration and immune regulation in adenine-induced chronic kidney disease.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a major global public health challenge, yet current clinical treatments fail to significantly reduce its associated morbidity and mortality. Yi-Shen-Hua-Shi (YS) granule, a traditional Chinese medicine widely used in mainland China, has demonstrated efficacy in improving renal function, reducing proteinuria, and mitigating renal pathological damage in CKD patients. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms of YS granule remain unclear.

AIM OF THE STUDY: Provide a valuable proteomics database to comprehensively characterize molecular features and the immune microenvironment in the renal cortex of adenine-induced CKD mice, and elucidate the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying the therapeutic effects of YS treatment on renal cortical pathology.

MATERIALS AND

METHODS

To assess the effectiveness of YS on the CKD mouse model, mice were fed a 0.25 % adenine diet for 4 weeks, followed by 2 weeks of daily gavage administration with either water (control), TSA, or YS at two doses (1.12 g/kg/d or 4.45 g/kg/d). Model validation and treatment efficacy were assessed through body weight monitoring, histological examination (HE staining), serum biochemical analysis, and Western blot quantification of fibrosis markers. Using 4D data-independent acquisition mass spectrometry, we constructed a comprehensive proteomic database of renal cortex samples from all six experimental groups. Mitochondrial function was evaluated using MitoTracker staining, while ATP levels were quantified via 2D luminescent cell viability assay. Immune profiling was performed through qPCR, immunofluorescence, and flow cytometry to corroborate proteomic findings. The PPARγ-Klotho signaling pathway, identified through proteomic analysis, was further validated using qPCR, Western blot, and immunofluorescence. Finally, we investigated the roles of PPARγ-Klotho pathway in YS-mediated protection against TWEAK-induced injury in HK-2 cells through combined Western blot, qPCR, and siRNA knockdown approaches.

RESULTS

Our findings demonstrate that adenine-induced CKD mice develop severe renal pathology, characterized by extensive fibrosis, upregulated inflammatory factors, immune cell infiltration, and impaired energy and lipid metabolism in renal tubular cells. YS treatment markedly improved renal function in CKD mice, attenuating fibrosis and immune cell infiltration while restoring energy metabolism, lipid homeostasis, and PPAR-Klotho signaling pathway activity in renal tubules. Importantly, in vitro experiments confirmed that YS exerts its therapeutic effects primarily through activation of the PPARγ-Klotho pathway.

CONCLUSION

Our findings demonstrate that YS treatment effectively mitigates renal injury in adenine-induced CKD mice by modulating immune cell populations and activating the PPARγ-Klotho signaling pathway.