Abstract: Objective To investigate the effect of resveratrol (Res) on the expression of monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1) and transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) in mice with high-fat diet-induced renal injury, and to explore the mechanism of renal protection. Methods A total of 24 healthy C57BL/6 male mice were randomly divided into 3 groups (n=7 each): normal control (NC) group, high-fat diet (HFD) group, and high-fat diet with Res intervention (HFD+Res) group. Mice in HFD+Res group were treated with resveratrol [35 mg/(kg·d)] by lavage everyday, and mice in NC and HFD groups were treated with the same volume of carboxymethylcellulose by lavage. After 12 weeks, serum total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), low density lipoprotein (LDL), creatinine (Scr), blood urea nitrogen (BUN), HE staining for histopathological changes, immunohistochemistry and western blotting for the expressions of MCP-1 and TGF-β1 were assayed. Results There were statistically differences in TC (F=48.688, P<0.001), TG (F=15.361, P=0.001), LDL (F= 50.401, P<0.001), Scr (F=27.143, P＜0.001) and BUN (F=23.369, P＜0.001) between NC, HFD and HFD+ Res groups. TC, TG, LDL, Scr and BUN increased significantly in HFD group as compared with those in NC group (P＜0.001 for TC; P=0.002 for TG; P＜0.001 for LDL; P＜0.001 for Scr; P＜0.001 for BUN) and with those in HFD+Res group (P=0.022 for TC; P=0.027 for TG; P＜0.001 for LDL; P=0.001 for Scr; P=0.001 for BUN). HE staining revealed evident histopathological lesions including slight increase of mesangial cells and matrix and proliferation of renal tubular epithelial cells in HFD group. In contrast, less pathological changes were found in HFD+Res group. Immunohistochemistry demonstrated that MCP-1 and TGF-β1 expressions were higher in HFD group than in NC group (P=0.004 for MCP-1; P＜0.001 for TGF-β1) and HFD+Res group (P=0.023 for MCP-1; P=0.007 for TGF-β1). Western blotting also demonstrated the higher expressions of MCP-1 and TGF-β1 in HFD group than in NC group (P=0.013 for MCP-1; P=0.002 for TGF-β1) and HFD+Res group (P=0.044 for MCP-1; P=0.039 for TGF-β1). Conclusion MCP-1 and TGF-β1 may be involved in the pathogenesis and progression of HFD-induced renal injury. Res can ameliorate the renal injury in mice by decreasing the expressions of MCP-1 and TGF-β1.

Key words: High-fat diet, Renal injury, Resveratrol, MCP-1, TGF-β1