94% of researchers rate our articles as excellent or good
Learn more about the work of our research integrity team to safeguard the quality of each article we publish.
Find out more
ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Pharmacol.
Sec. Experimental Pharmacology and Drug Discovery
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fphar.2025.1563676
This article is part of the Research TopicGenetics in the Onset and Progression of Urinary System Diseases: Pathological Role and Molecular MechanismView all articles
Wuling capsule alleviates hyperuricaemia and protects UA-injured HK-2 cells by regulating uric acid transporter proteins
Provisionally accepted- 1Shaanxi University of Chinese Medicine, Xianyang, China
- 2Tsing Hua De Ren Xi'an Happiness Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Xi'an, China
- 3Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, Beijing Municipality, China
Select one of your emails
You have multiple emails registered with Frontiers:
Notify me on publication
Please enter your email address:
If you already have an account, please login
You don't have a Frontiers account ? You can register here
Wuling capsule is a Chinese patent medicine mainly used for the treatment of chronic liver disease in clinical practice. Our previous work has revealed that Wuling capsule could inhibit liver fibrosis by regulating macrophage polarization, and firstly demonstrated its anti-gout effects on monosodium urate (MSU)-induced acute gouty arthritis (AGA) in rats. High uric acid (UA) levels are known to be the primary cause of gout. Therefore, this study investigated the UA lowering, kidney protection effects and underlying mechanisms of Wuling capsule in vivo and in vitro, and also determined its key bioactive constituents. In HUA rats, Wuling capsule significantly reduced the serum UA level and xanthine oxidase (XOD) content in both serum and liver. Furthermore, it improved liver function markers (ALT, AST) and renal injury indicators (Cr, BUN), ameliorated renal tubule dilation and inflammatory infiltration in the kidney, and regulated the mRNA and protein expression of UA related transporters (URAT1, GLUT9, ABCG2 and OAT1). In vitro, the main constituents of Wuling capsule (saikosaponin A, tanshinone IIA, schisandrol B and ganoderic acid A) improved cell viability and inhibited cell apoptosis in UA-injured HK-2 cells. Subsequently, its four serum constituents also significantly regulated the mRNA and protein expression of URAT1, GLUT9, and ABCG2 selectively. This work demonstrated the therapeutic effect of Wuling capsule on HUA by protecting liver and kidney function and regulating UA related transporters. These findings provide novel support for the further clinical application of Wuling capsule.
Keywords: Wuling capsule, Hyperuricaemia, Urate transporter, HK-2 cells, apoptosis 1
Received: 20 Jan 2025; Accepted: 08 Apr 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Li, Liu, Song, Zhou, Tang, Xu, Shi, Liu and Ni. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Rui Zhou, Shaanxi University of Chinese Medicine, Xianyang, China
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.