Protective effect of Tanshinone IIA on the early stage of experimental diabetic nephropathy

Diabetic nephropathy (DN) has become the leading cause of end stage renal failure, and prevention or retardation of DN has become a major goal in biomedical research. In this study, Tanshinone IIA, a component extracted from Salvia miltiorrhiza, was studied in experimental rats in which DN was induced by streptozotocin (STZ) treatment. The DN rats were treated with 10 mg/kg of Tanshinone IIA for 12 weeks to analyze its reno-protective effect with different parameters. Renal hypertrophy and 24-h urinary protein excretion were ameliorated by Tanshinone IIA. Moreover, advanced glycation end-products (AGEs), angiotensin II (Ang II), transforming growth factor beta(1) (TGF-beta(1)), collagen IV, and monocyte/macrophage (ED-1) either in the serum or kidney were significantly reduced. These results suggest that Tanshinone IIA might have protective effects on several pharmacological targets during the progression of DN, and could be a potential drug for the prevention of DN.