Drug pair of Cornus officinalis and Radix achyranthis bidentatae improves renal injury of hypertension by regulating metabolic reprogramming mediated by eNOS.

Objective: To explore the effects and possible mechanisms of the drug pair Cornus officinalis and Radix achyranthis bidentatae (SYR-NX) on improving hypertensive kidney damage.

Method: SYR-NX, a formulation of Cornus officinalis and Radix Achyranthis Bidentatae with a dose ratio 1:2.5, was used in this experiment. We investigated the effects of SYR-NX on spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) fed with a high-salt diet and Human Kidney-2 (HK2) cells exposed to hypoxia. After 8 weeks of treatment with SYR-NX, blood pressure was tested, and β 2-Microglobulin(β2-MG), blood creatinine (S-cr), endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS), nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH), M2 pyruvate kinase (PKM2), adenosine triphosphate (ATP), pyruvate, lactate, connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α)were measured. HK2 cells pre-treated with SYR-NX were cultured in a three-gas hypoxic incubator chamber (5 % CO, 1 % O, 94 % N) for 12 h, and then eNOS, PKM2, NADPH, ATP, pyruvate, lactate, CTGF and TNF-α were assessed.

Results: SYR-NX significantly reduced SBP, DBP, β2-MG, S-cr, PKM2, pyruvate, lactate, CTGF and TNF-α, and increased eNOS, NADPH, and ATP.

Conclusion: SYR-NX can regulate metabolic reprogramming through eNOS and improves hypertensive kidney injury.