Impacts of the serum containing total flavonoids of Ajuga on rat glomerular mesangial cells

The aim of the current study was to investigate the impacts and possible mechanisms of total flavonoids of Ajuga (TFA) on glomerular mesangial cells (GMC) through in vitro observations of the impacts of TFA‑containing serum on GMC proliferation and extracellular matrix (ECM) secretion in lipopolysaccharides (LPS)‑induced rats. Rat GMC was cultured in vitro, using LPS to stimulate the proliferation of GMC and the secretion of ECM; meanwhile, TFA‑containing serum (TFA‑S) was used for the intervention. Methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium (MTT) assay was performed to test the proliferation of GMC; enzyme‑linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to detect the expressions of fibronectin (FN) and collagen IV (Col‑IV) in cell supernatant, flow cytometry was performed to detect the cell cycle, and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction was performed to detect the expression levels of matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP‑9) mRNA and transforming growth factor β1 (TGF‑β1) mRNA. The GMC proliferation and the expressions of FN and Col‑IV in cell supernatant were significantly reduced after 24 and 48 h TFA‑S intervention (P<0.05 or 0.01). A total of 48 h subsequent to the intervention, the proportion of GMC in the G1 phase and the relative expression of MMP‑9 mRNA were significantly increased (P<0.05 or 0.01), however the proportion of GMC in S phase and the relative expression of TGF‑β1 mRNA were significantly reduced (P<0.05 or 0.01). TFA‑S can inhibit LPS‑induced GMC proliferation and ECM accumulation, and its roles are associated with regulating the cell cycle and the expression levels of TGF‑β1 and MMP‑9.