Notch2/Hes-1 Pathway Plays an Important Role in Renal Ischemia and Reperfusion Injury-Associated Inflammation and Apoptosis and the γ-Secretase Inhibitor DAPT has a Nephroprotective Effect

This study aims to investigate the role of Notch pathway in the renal ischemia/reperfusion injury (IRI)-associated inflammation and apoptosis. Materials and methods: Male Sprague–Dawley rats were divided into three groups: normal saline (NS)-treated sham rats, NS-treated ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) rats, and N-[N-(3,5-difluorophenacetyl-l-alanyl)]-S-phenylglycine t-butyl ester (DAPT) (a γ-secretase inhibitor) treated I/R rats. I/R rat model underwent nephrectomy of the right kidney and was subjected to 60 min of left renal pedicle occlusion followed by 24 h, 48 h, and 72 h of reperfusion, respectively. The levels of creatinine, urea nitrogen (BUN), interleukin (IL)-6, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α in serum samples and urinary N-acety-β-d-glucosaminidase (NAG) were assayed. Histological examinations were performed. The protein expression of Notch2, hairy/enhancer of split 1 (hes-1), NF-κB2, monocyte chemoattractant protein (MCP)-1, B-cell lymphoma 2 (bcl-2), and bcl-2-associated X (bax) were detected and th...