Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is one of the most common causes of end-stage renal failure. This study was performed to determine the effect of Dantonic Pill (DP) treatment on β-catenin expression in a rat model of streptozotocin- (STZ-) induced early-stage DN, with irbesartan treatment as a positive control. Including an analysis of the general metabolic index and renal function, immunohistochemical staining and reverse transcription real-time PCR for β-catenin were performed in the renal cortex of the rat models every 4 weeks. After the treatments of DP and irbesartan, the albuminuria level, kidney weight/body weight, and thickness of the glomerular basement membrane were decreased, but the expression of β-catenin was not downregulated in the renal cortex. The effective drug target of DP to ameliorate albuminuria and renal hypertrophy should not inhibit the upregulated expression of β-catenin in rats with STZ-induced early-stage diabetic damage. 1. Introduction Diabetes mellitus presents a significant health concern because this disorder leads to long-term complications throughout the body involving the renal and other systems [1]. Diabetic nephropathy (DN) evolves into a progressive fibrosing kidney disease. Wnt pathway components have been reported to be associated with various kidney diseases including DN [2]. Regulating the -catenin protein levels to control the activation of Wnt-responsive target genes is referred to as the canonical Wnt/ -catenin pathway. Wnt proteins interact with receptor proteins and stabilize the downstream transcription regulator -catenin by inhibiting -catenin phosphorylation, which reportedly affects tubule formation and epithelial differentiation [3]. High glucose levels (HG) increased the phosphorylation of -catenin and reduced the nuclear -catenin levels. The destabilization of -catenin was correlated with the increased expression of other profibrotic factors in mesangial cells [4]. Impaired -catenin signaling is one prominent pathologic reaction responsible for the ECM metabolism induced by HG in mesangial cells [5]. “Herbal medicines’’ and ‘‘herbal remedies’’ are interchangeable terms that are used to refer to treatments containing various mixtures of herbs. People choose to take herbal medicines as alternatives to orthodox medicines due to their supposed low levels of toxicity and their ‘‘natural’’ origins. Thousands of years ofclinic practice in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) have accumulated a considerable number of formulae that exhibit reliable in vivo efficacy and safety. The “Dantonic Pill” (DP), also known as
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