Antagonistic Effect of Salidroside on Podocyte Pyroptosis in Diabetic Kidney Disease Rats under Hypoxia Based on NLRP3/IL-1β/TGF-β1 Pathway

Background Salidroside has been shown to protect diabetic kidney disease (DKD) rats, however, whether it is equally effective in a hypoxic environment and the specific mechanism of action remain unclear. Objective To observe the effects of salidroside on biochemical parameters, renal tissue pathological lesion, and the expression of cell pyroptosis-related proteins in a rat model of DKD under hypoxia, and explore its mechanisms of action. Methods From March 2022 to March 2023, forty 6-week-old SPF-grade SD male rats were used, with eight randomly selected as the control group, the remaining were modeled. Twenty-four DKD model rats were randomly divided into three groups of the model group, salidroside group, and salidroside+nod-like receptor protein 3 (NLRP3) activator group for intervention, with 8 in each group. After the intervention, blood was collected from the abdominal aorta for biochemical parameter testing, hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining, and transmission electron microscopy were used to observe ren