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Citrate Attenuates Adenine-Induced Chronic Renal Failure in Rats by Modulating the Th17/Treg Cell Balance

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Abstract

Citrate is commonly used as an anticoagulant in hemodialysis for chronic renal failure (CRF) and for the regulation of the immune dysfunction in CRF patients. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of citrate on the balance of T helper 17 (Th17) and regulatory T (Treg) cells in CRF. The levels of blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and serum creatinine (Scr) were significantly increased in the CRF model group compared to the control group, and were decreased in the citrate-treated groups. Citrate treatment inhibited the viability of Th17 cells while elevating the viability of Treg cells in CRF rats. Moreover, Th17-related cytokines significantly decreased while the Treg-related cytokines significantly increased with citrate treatment. Moreover, citrate had a negative influence on the deviation of Th17/Treg cells in CRF rats. Therefore, our study suggests that citrate had an anti-inflammatory effect on CRF through the modulation of the Th17/Treg balance.

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Abbreviations

CRF:

Chronic renal failure

Th:

T helper

Treg:

Regulatory T cell

RA:

Rheumatoid arthritis

SD:

Sprague-Dawley

BUN:

Blood urea nitrogen

Scr:

Serum creatinine

PBS:

Phosphate-buffered solution

RoR:

Transcription factor retinoic acid receptor-related orphan receptor

Foxp3:

Forkhead box P3

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Acknowledgments

The study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Program NO. 81200554), Natural Science Basic Reasearch Plan in Shaanxi Province of China (Program NO. 2010JQ4025), and International Cooperation Project of Xi’an Jiaotong University.

Conflict of Interest

All the authors have no conflict of interest to declare. No competing financial interests exist.

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Correspondence to Yan Ou.

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Ou, Y., Li, S., Zhu, X. et al. Citrate Attenuates Adenine-Induced Chronic Renal Failure in Rats by Modulating the Th17/Treg Cell Balance. Inflammation 39, 79–86 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10753-015-0225-y

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