To investigate the effects of triptolide on autophagy and apoptosis of renal podocytes in diabetic nephropathy(DN)mice.Methods:A total of 60 mice were randomly divided into a DN group and a triptolide group,with 30 mice in each group.The pathological changes of kidney tissues and renal function were observed under light microscope.The the expression of podocin,Lc3,Bax and Caspase-3 in kidney tissues were detected by Western blot and immunohistochemical staining of Williams Tumor Protein-1(WT-1)and podocyte autophagy were observed under transmission electron microscope.Results:PAS staining showed that the mesangial matrix increased significantly in DN group and decreased significantly in triptolide group.WT-1 immunohistochemical staining showed that the number of renal podocytes in triptolide group was significantly higher than that in DN group.Western Blot results showed that compared with DN mice,the expression of Podocin,LC3-II/LC3-I ratio,Bax and Caspase-3 in triptolide group increased significantly,while the expression of apoptosis-related proteins decreased significantly(P<0.05).Conclusion:Tripterygium wilfordii can alleviate podocyte injury and delay the progress of DN,which can be used as a reference for the treatment of DN.