Ethnopharmacological relevance: Sanqi oral solution (SQ) is a traditional Chinese patent medicine, widely used to treat chronic kidney diseases (CKD) in the clinic in China. Previous studies have confirmed its anti-renal fibrosis effect, but the specific pharmacological mechanism is still unclear. Aim of the study: Focusing on energy metabolism in fibroblasts, the renoprotective mechanism of SQ was investigated in vitro and in vivo. Methods: Firstly, the fingerprint of SQ was constructed and its elementary chemical composition was analyzed. In the 5/6Nx rats experiment, the efficacy of SQ on the kidney was evaluated by detecting serum and urine biochemical indexes and pathological staining of renal tissues. Lactic acid and pyruvic acid levels in serum and renal tissues were detected. PCNA protein expression in kidney tissue was detected by immunofluorescence assay and Western blot. Expression levels of HIF-1 alpha, PKM2 and HK2 were determined by immunohistochemistry, Western blot or RT-qPCR assay. In addition, the effect of SQ intervention on cell proliferation and glycolysis was evaluated in TGF-beta 1-induced NRK-49F cells, and the role of SQ exposure and HIF-1 alpha/PKM2/glycolysis pathway were further investigated by silencing and overexpressing HIF-1 alpha gene in NRK-49F cells. Results: In 5/6 Nx rats, SQ effectively improved renal function and treated renal injury. It reduced the levels of lactic acid and pyruvic acid in kidney homogenates from CKD rats and decreased the expression levels of HIF-1 alpha, PKM2, HK2, alpha-SMA, vimentin, collagen I and PCNA in kidney tissues. Similar results were observed in vitro. SQ inhibited NRK-49F cell proliferation, glycolysis and the expression levels of HIF-1 alpha, PKM2 induced by TGF-beta 1. Furthermore, we established NRK-49F cells transfected with siRNA or pDNA to silence or overexpress the HIF-1 alpha gene. Overexpression of HIF-1 alpha promoted cellular secretion of lactic acid and pyruvic acid in TGF-beta 1-induced NRK-49F cells, however, this change was reversed by intervention with SQ or silencing the HIF-1 alpha gene. Overexpression of HIF-1 alpha can further induce increased PKM2 expression, while SQ intervention can reduce PKM2 expression. Moreover, PKM2 expression was also inhibited after silencing HIF-1 alpha gene, and SQ was not effective even when given. Conclusion: The mechanism of action of SQ was explored from the perspective of energy metabolism, and it was found to regulate PKM2-activated glycolysis, inhibit fibroblast activation, and further ameliorate renal fibrosis in CKD by targeting HIF-1 alpha.
