Molecular mechanism study of puerarin in alleviating diabetic nephropathy through upregulation of IL10 and PPARγ Expression

Objective: Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is a major microvascular complication of diabetes and the leading cause of end-stage renal disease, significantly affecting the prognosis of diabetic patients. This study aimed to investigate the molecular mechanism of puerarin (Pur) in treating diabetic nephropathy. Methods: Network pharmacology approach was employed to screen and analyze potential targets of puerarin in treating diabetic nephropathy.A streptozotocin-induced diabetic rat model was established, and RT-qPCR and Western blot techniques were used to detect the expression changes of key genes and proteins. Results: Network pharmacology analysis identified 70 common targets and screened out 9 key genes. RT-qPCR results showed that compared with the DN group, puerarin significantly upregulated the expression levels of PPARγ and IL-10. Western blot further verified that puerarin significantly increased PPARγ expression level (p