A Preliminary Study On The Ameliorative Effects Of Ophicordyceps Lanpingensis On Pulmonary Fibrosis And Acute Renal Failure In Mice

Pulmonary fibrosis(PF)is an end-stage change of a large class of pulmonary diseases characterized by fibroblast proliferation and a large number of extracellular matrix aggregates associated with inflammatory lesions and structure damage.PF seriously affects the respiratory function of the body and the respiratory function of the patient is deteriorated with the increased lung injury,until the final failure and death.Nowadays,the incidence and the mortality of PF are increasing year by year,and the average survival period after diagnosis is no more than 3 years.Acute renal failure(ARF)is a clinical syndrome which refers to a sharp(several hours or weeks)progressive decline of renal function caused by a variety of pathogeneses,resulting in the accumulation of nitrogenous waste in vivo.The incidence and mortality rates of ARF in patients are increasing these years.PF and ARF are still lack of specific and effective treatment methods.In the case of the poor and side effects of western drugs,based on the theory of traditional Chinese medicine,the use of Chinese drugs for the prevention and treatment of such diseases is of great significance.Ophiocoredycps sinensis is a kind of valuable nourishing herbs in China.In traditional Chinese medicine,O.sinensis benefits lung and kidney,mainly used for invigorating the lung and nourishing the kidney.In addition,modern medicine showed that O.sinensis also has effects on regulating immunity,treating of cardiovascular disease and other diseases.However,due to the difficulty of large-scale cultivation and the excessive exploitation of wild resources,a conflict generates between the market supply and demand,thus the expensive price severely limits the clinical application.Ophiocordyceps lanpingensis is a closely related species to O.sinensis.The active components of O.lanpingensis are similar to those of wild O.sinensis,and it is easy to be cultured.The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of artificial O.lanpingensis on PF and ARF in mice,thus to provide theoretical basis and technical reference for cultured O.lanpingensis in place of wild O.sinensis and give ideas for the further prevention and treatment of PF and ARF.1.Therapeutic effects of O.lanpingensis powder and its extract on pulmonary fibrosis in miceC57BL/6 male mice were divided into normal control group(C group),bleomycin model group(BLM group),dexamethasone acetate positive control group(DA group),low and high doses of O.lanpingensis powder groups(OL groups)and low and high doses of 0.lanpingensis powder extract groups(OLE groups),a total of 7 groups,24 mice of each group.The mice were sacrificed on the 7th,14th and 28th day after successful modeling.The blood was got;wet weight of the lung,the thymus and the spleen were weighed.The serum immunoglobulin G(IgG)level was assayed.In the meantime,the lung tissue was detected by HE staining and Masson staining,and the content of hydroxyproline(HYP)and malondialdehyde(MDA)in the lung tissue,and the activity of superoxide dismutase(SOD)were analyzed.The results showed that different doses of O.lanpingensis powder and their extracts could increase the body weight of mice,thymus index,spleen index,serum IgG level and SOD activity of lung tissue,while reduce the degrees of alveolitis,pulmonary fibrosis,lung tissue HYP and MDA levels.The improvement of the high dose of OLE(1.0 g/kg/d)was not only better than those of the low dose of OLE,low and high doses of OL,but also better than that of 6.0 mg/kg/d DA.The results showed that O.lanpingensis and its extract had the effects on preventing andtreating bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis in mice,and the effect of OLE was significantly better than that of OL and it was dose-dependent.The mechanism may be related to the regulation of oxidative stress and immune response.2.Therapeutic effects of O.lanpingensis powder and its extract on acute renal failure in miceC57BL/6 male mice were divided into normal control group(C group),glycerol-induced model group(ARF group),corbrin capsule positive control group(CC group),low and high doses of O.lanpingensis powder groups(OL groups)and low and high doses of O.lanpingensis powder extract groups(OLE groups),a total of 7 groups,32 mice of each group.The mice were sacrificed on the 6 h,1 d,4 d and 7 d after successful modeling.The blood was collected,the wet weight of the kidney,the thymus and the spleen were weighed.The levels of serum IgG,creatinine(Scr),blood urea nitrogen(BUN)and the creatine kinase(CK)activity were analyzed.Meanwhile,the kidney tissue was detected by HE staining,and the contents of glutathione(GSH)and MDA in the kidney tissue and the activity of SOD were also assayed.The results indicated that different doses of O.lanpingensis powder and its extract could increase the body weight,thymus index,spleen index,serum IgG level,GSH level and SOD activity of kidney tissue,while reduce Scr and BUN levels,serum CK activity and MDA level of kidney tissue,thus to relieve kidney injury.The improvement of the high dose of OLE(1.0 g/kg/d)was better than its low dose and low and high doses of OL,as well as significantly better than the effect of corbrin capsule,which is artificial power of O.sinensis being commonly used as a medicine for nourishing lungs and kidneys in clinic.The results demonstrated that O.lanpingensis and its extract had the effects on preventing and treating glycerol-induced acute renal failure in mice,and the effect of OLE was better.The mechanism may be also related to the modulations of oxidative stress and immune response.