Effects of alkaloid sinomenine on levels of IFN-γ, IL-1β, TNF-α and IL-6 in a rat renal allograft model

Aims: To evaluate the immunosuppressive efficacy of alkaloid sinomenine (SIN) and the synergistic effects in combination with cyclosporin A (CsA) in acute rejection after rat renal allograft. Materials & methods: Animals were treated with saline in group 1, SIN (30 mg/kg/d) in group 2, CsA (2.5 mg/kg/d) in group 3 and SIN (30 mg/kg/d) + CsA(2.5 mg/kg/d) in group 4. Another 12 syngeneic renal transplantation animals were treated with saline as control. Survival time is observed. The levels of serum creatinine (Scr) and blood urea nitrogen (Bun) were detected; the secretion of IFN-gamma, IL-1 beta, TNF-alpha and IL-6 were detected by ELISA. The kidneys were fixed to perform histological staining. Results: The mean survival time was 8.00 +/- 2.10 days in group 1, 10.67 +/- 1.21 days in group 2, 11.00 +/- 1.41 days in group 3 and 19.67 +/- 2.80 days in group 4, while all the recipients survived more than 180 days in the control group. The 24-h urinary volume and urinary time of the other three groups were increased significantly compared with group 1. The levels of Scr and Bun, levels of IFN-gamma, IL-1 beta, INF-alpha and IL-6 were significantly higher in group 1 than that in the other three groups; there were significant differences between group 4 and group 2 or 3. Conclusion: Our study showed that SIN had immunosupression effects in rat renal allograft models, it also had a synergistic effect in combination with CsA, which provided a new immunosuppressant for clinical application.