Therapeutic effect of valsartan against doxorubicin-induced renal toxicity in rats.

Objectives: Doxorubicin (DXR)-induces glomerular atrophy and fibrosis in rat kidneys. The objective of the current study was to investigate the protective effects of valsartan on DXR-induced glomerular toxicity and its mechanisms of actions in rats.

Materials And Methods: Male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were divided into four groups, and each group contains ten rats.

Antioxidant properties of repaglinide and its protections against cyclosporine A-induced renal tubular injury.

Objectives: Repaglinide (RG) is an antihyperglycemic agent used for the treatment of non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. It has a good safety and efficacy profile in diabetic patients with complications in renal impairment and is an appropriate treatment choice, even for individuals with more severe degrees of renal malfunctions. The aim of the present study was to examine the protective effect of RG on cyclosporine A (CsA)-induced rat renal impairment and to evaluate the antioxidant mechanisms by which RG exerts its protective actions.

Amlodipine prevents adriamycin-induced toxicity in cultured rat mesangial cells by up-regulation of Smad6, Smad7 expression.

Extensive studies have demonstrated that transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β) plays an important role in the progression of renal diseases. A central component of TGF-β is the TGF-β family-specific Smad signal transduction pathway. TGF-β signals through Smad2, 4 to mediate renal fibrosis, whereas induction of Smad6, 7 inhibits renal fibrosis and inflammation.

Chemical composition, antimicrobial and antioxidant activities of essential oil from Ampelopsis megalophylla.

Chemical composition, antimicrobial and antioxidant activities of the essential oil of Ampelopsis megalophylla were evaluated in this research. GC-MS analysis of the essential oil revealed 42 compounds, representing 88.54% of the oil.

Protective effect of 20-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid (20-HETE) on adriamycin-induced toxicity of human renal tubular epithelial cell (HK-2).

20-Hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid is a cytochrome P4504A11 metabolite of arachidonic acid that plays an important role in the regulation of human renal functions. In the present study, we investigated the role of 20-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid on adriamycin induced toxicity in human renal tubular epithelial cells. Results showed that cell viability was decreased significantly and lactate dehydrogenase activity was increased significantly in a concentration-dependent manner when human renal tubular epithelial cells were incubated with adriamycin (10⁻⁷-10⁻³ mol/l) for 24h.

Ligustrazine inhibits lipopolysaccharide-induced proliferation by affecting P27, Bcl-2 expression in rat mesangial cells.

Ligustrazine has a renoprotective effect against nephritis. In the present study, we investigated the roles of ligustrazine on lipopolysaccharide-induced changes of proliferation, cell cycle in cultured rat mesangial cells. 3-(4,5-dimethyltiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide assay revealed that rat mesangial cells treated with lipopolysaccharide (10mg/l) underwent significant proliferation compared with control group.

Effects of amlodipine on TGF-β-induced Smad2, 4 expressions in adriamycin toxicity of rat mesangial cells.

Transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) is closely associated with progressive renal fibrosis. A central component of TGF-β-stimulated mesangial cell fibrogenesis is the TGF-β family-specific Smad signal transduction pathway. This study investigated the expression of TGF-β-receptor--activated Smad2, its common partner Smad4, and the phosphorylated Smad2 (p-Smad2) in adriamycin-induced toxicity of cultured rat mesangial cells.

Differential roles of dihydropyridine calcium antagonist nifedipine, nitrendipine and amlodipine on gentamicin-induced renal tubular toxicity in rats.

In the present study, we investigated the antioxidative potencies of dihydropyridine calcium antagonists prototype nifedipine, the second generation drug nitrendipine, and the long acting, third generation drug amlodipine on gentamicin-induced renal tubular toxicity in Sprague-Dawley rats. In addition, we analyzed the relationship between renal tubular cell apoptosis and the antioxidative properties of these dihydropyridine calcium antagonists. Results showed that treatment with gentamicin alone caused significant changes in the levels of urinary protein, urinary N-acetyl-beta-d-glucosaminidase, serum creatinine, and blood urea nitrogen.

Hepatotoxicity and gene expression down-regulation of CYP isozymes caused by renal ischemia/reperfusion in the rat.

Renal ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) occurs in many clinical scenarios, including trauma, elective surgery, and transplantation. Events initiated by this process can lead to inflammation in the kidneys, culminating in local injury as well as distant organ dysfunction. The objectives of this study were to investigate the changes in the functions of the liver and the regulation of gene expression of cytochrome P450 (CYP) isozymes after renal I/R.

Protective effects of ligustrazine on cisplatin-induced oxidative stress, apoptosis and nephrotoxicity in rats.

Cisplatin is an effective agent against various solid tumors. However, its nephrotoxicity been reported to be a dose-limiting factor for treating various types of tumors. The aim of this study was to determine the protective effects of ligustrazine on cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity through tissue oxidant/antioxidant parameters, light microscopic evaluation, and tubular apoptosis in rats.

Changes of multiple biotransformation phase I and phase II enzyme activities in human fetal adrenals during fetal development.

Aim: Fetal adrenal, which synthesizes steroid hormones, is critical to fetal growth and development. Our recent research showed that some xenobiotics could interfere with steroidogenesis and induce intrauterine growth retardation in rats. The study on the characteristics of biotransformation enzymes in fetal adrenals still seems to be important with respect to possible significance in xenobiotic-induced fetal development toxicity.

Protective effect of ligustrazine on accelerated anti-glomerular basement membrane antibody nephritis in rats is based on its antioxidant properties.

Ligustrazine has a renoprotective effect against nephritis. In this study, we further characterized the renoprotective properties of ligustrazine in an experimental model using accelerated anti-glomerular basement membrane antibody (AGBM-Ab). Ligustrazine was given i.

Differential effects of dihydropyridine calcium antagonists on doxorubicin-induced nephrotoxicity in rats.

The aim of this study was to compare the roles of dihydropyridine calcium antagonists nifedipine, nitrendipine, amlodipine on doxorubicin (DXR)-induced nephrotoxicity in rats using biochemical, histopathological and immunohistochemical approaches. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into five experimental groups: control; DXR; DXR+nifedipine (15 mg/kg); DXR+nitrendipine (10 mg/kg); DXR+amlodipine (5 mg/kg). Results showed that treatment with DXR alone caused significant changes in the levels of urinary protein, serum creatinine (SCr), and blood urea nitrogen (BUN).