This study aims to explore the protective effects and mechanisms of
ulinastatin (UTI), which is a
urinary trypsin inhibitor, of the renal interstitial
fibrosis of rats subjected to unilateral
ureteral obstruction (UUO). A total of 36 male Wistar rats were divided in random into three groups, namely, the
sham operation (SOR) group (n=12), the UUO group (n=12), and the UTI treatment group (n=12). Six rats from each group were euthanised after unilateral
ureteral obstruction operation on the seventh and fourteenth days, respectively. Blood samples were harvested for blood
urea nitrogen (BUN) and serum
creatinine (Scr) measurement. The interstitial pathological changes of the tissue from the obstructed kidneys were observed using haematoxylin-
eosin (H&E) and Masson staining. The expression of the
transforming growth factor β type 1 (TGF-β1), α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA),
type I collagen (Col-I), and phosphorylated Smad2/3 (p-Smad2/3) was determined using immunohistochemistry. The
protein expression levels of TGF-β1, α-SMA, and p-Smad2/3 were examined using Western blot analysis. The results show that
ulinastatin has no statistically significant effect on the BUN and Scr levels (P>0.05), but it can significantly reduce renal interstitial injury and suppress interstitial
collagen deposits. The renoprotective effect of
ulinastatin is likely realised through the TGF-β/Smad signalling pathways.