Transcriptome Analysis Exploring the Potential Mechanisms of Shelong Capsule against Membranous Nephropathy in Rats

Membranous nephropathy (MN) is a common cause of adult nephrotic syndrome with up to 40% of cases may progress to end-stage kidney disease, despite our growing molecular understanding of MN, clinical treatment modalities remain limited. Shelong capsule (SLC), as a traditional Chinese medicine, is used to treat MN in clinical practice. In this study, we performed the kidney mRNA expression profiles of MN rats model with/without SLC treatment. Using RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq) analysis, we found that 685 common differentially expressed genes (DEGs), including 535 upregulated genes and 150 downregulated genes, were identified via Venn analysis between MN rats with/without SLC samples. Gene Oncology (GO) analysis showed that DEGs mainly involved in membrane structure, transport, cell adhesion and migration, and regulated the activity of transmembrane transporters. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analysis highlighted PI3K-AKT signaling pathway. 10 hub genes (EGFR, FN1, RAC3, FRK, CDH1, AGT, HSPG2, ITGA8, AKT3 and FGFR2) were found via CytoHubba and functioned mainly by participating in cell membrane surface and PI3K/Akt signaling pathway. In conclusion, the key genes and signaling pathways identified in this study may provide a new way to better understand the mechanism of SLC in MN treatment.