RESEARCH ARTICLE Green Tea Polyphenol (−)-Epigallocatechin-3- Gallate Restores Nrf2 Activity and

Crescentic glomerulonephritis (GN) is the most severe form of GN and is associated with significant morbidity and mortality despite aggressive immunotherapy with steroids, cytotox-ic drugs, and plasmapheresis. We examined the therapeutic efficacy of the green tea poly-phenol (−)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG, 50 mg/kg BW/day x3weeks), a potent anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant agent, on experimental crescentic GN induced in 129/svJ mice by administration of rabbit anti-mouse glomerular basement membrane sera. Routine histology and key molecules involved in inflammatory and redox signaling were studied. EGCG treatment significantly reduced mortality, decreased proteinuria and serum creati-nine, and markedly improved renal histology when compared with vehicle-treated mice. The improvements in renal function and histology were accompanied by the restoration o