Objective: To observe the effect of the berberine (BBR)on ischemia-reperfusion for renal tubular epithelial cells (NRK-52E)of rat. Method: Using chemical hypoxia cobalt chloride (CoCl2)to stimulate NRK-52E cells to develop a chemical model of hypoxia-reoxygenation injury.Then

the cells were treated with different concentrations (1×10-6

1×10-5

1×10-4 mol ·L-1)of BBR.Methylthiazolyldiphenyl-tetrazolium bromide (MTT)was used to test the activity of the cells.Malondialdehyde (MDA)and superoxide dismutase (SOD)content of each group were determined; Hoechst33258 staining was used to detect the morphological changes of apoptotic cells of each group; Annexin V-FITC/PI staining was applied to detect the rate of apoptosis cell in each group. Result: MTT results showed that 1×10-4 mol ·L-1 BBR was toxic to the cells

but 1×10-6 mol ·L-1and 1×10-5 mol ·L-1 BBR could increase the ischemia-reperfusion group cell survival

especially in 1×10-5 mol ·L-1 for the high; Hoechst33258 showed almost no apoptotic cells in the normal group

in the model group there were mostly nuclear staining of apoptotic cells

while BBR (1×10-5 mol ·L-1)pretreatment significantly reduced apoptosis cells; With the normal control groups

the MDA of ischemia-reperfusion group content was significantly higher ( P <0.05)

but the SOD was significantly lower ( P <0.05).The pretreatment with BBR group

MDA was significantly lower than that of before treatment ( P <0.05)

SOD was higher than the ischemia-reperfusion group ( P <0.05)

the role of BBR depends on the concentration between 1×10-6 mol ·L-1 and 1×10-5 mol ·L-1.The Flow Cytometry showed that the apoptosis rate of 1×10-5

1×10-6 mol ·L-1 BBR group and ischemia-reperfusion group were 11.1%

32.2% and 56.2%

and the differences were significantly ( P <0.05). Conclusion: The pretreatment with BBR on the ischemia-reperfusion cell has protective effects on renal tubular epithelial cells

especially the concentration of 1×10-5 mol ·L-1 was most effective.