Gubenxiezhuo Decoction Attenuated Diabetic Nephropathy by Inhibiting Oxidative Stress and Intestinal Virulence Genes

Objectives The research aims to investigate the impact of Gubenxiezhuo decoction on kidney injury and intestinal microbiota, with the goal of evaluating its efficacy in treating diabetic nephropathy (DN). Methods This study enrolled 60 DN patients, and these patients were divided into three groups: (a) DN, (b) Gubenxiezhuo, and (c) saline groups. There were an additional 20 cases of healthy individuals included as controls. The rat model with DN was built to investigate the effect of the Gubenxiezhuo drug. Serum levels of LPS, C-reactive protein (CRP), HMGB, TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6 of patients and rats were detected using the ELISA kits. Stool samples from both the patients and the rats were collected after the treatment, and gene expression of vira, bft, CPa, tcdA, and tcdB was measured with qRT-PCR. Proteinuria and glomerular filtration rate (GFR) were also detected. The protein levels of TLR4, RAGE, MyD88, IKKβ, and NF-κBp65 in kidney tissues of DN rats were determined using Western blotting. DAO activity and GSH levels in lysates of colonic tissue were measured. Results Gubenxiezhuo dialysate suppressed the expression of intestinal virulence genes including vira, bft, CPa, cdtA, and cdtB in DN patients. Inflammatory mediators including LPS, CRP, HMGB, TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6 were downregulated, and increased GFR and decreased proteinuria content were found after the treatment of Gubenxiezhuo decoction. The DN rat model also confirmed that Gubenxiezhuo decoction could significantly attenuate inflammatory response, oxidative stress, and kidney injury, as well as improve the distribution of intestinal microbiota and body weight. Conclusion Gubenxiezhuo decoction obviously attenuated kidney injury through inhibiting inflammatory response, oxidative stress, and the expression of intestinal virulence genes.