Recoverability of renal functions after relief of partial ureteric obstruction of solitary kidney: impact of ferulic acid.

Unlabelled: What's known on the subject? and What does the study add? It is known that the kidney damage continues even after release of ureteric obstruction. This study found that giving ferulic acid, antioxidant, after release of ureteric obstruction enhanced the recovery of kidney functions in solitary kidney.

Objective: To evaluate the effect of ferulic acid (FA) on the recovery of renal function and renal damage after relief of partial ureteric obstruction (PUO) of a solitary kidney.

Methods: Male mongrel dogs (n = 32) were classified into three groups: sham (eight), control (12) and study (12). A right nephrectomy was carried out and dogs in the study and control groups were subjected to 4 weeks of PUO. Serum creatinine, creatinine clearance (CrCl) and renographic clearance (RC) were measured at baseline, after 4 weeks of obstruction and 8 weeks after relief of obstruction. Markers of lipid peroxidation (malondialdehyde [MDA]), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and reduced glutathione (GSH), and immunostaining of markers of apoptosis (caspase 3 and Bcl2), cell proliferation (Ki67) and interstitial fibrosis in the kidney were evaluated at the end of experiment.

Results: Ferulic acid enhanced the recovery of serum creatinine, CrCl and RC by an extra 22%, 26% and 33.7%, respectively, of the basal values at 8 weeks, after relief of 4 weeks' obstruction. In addition, FA caused a significant decrease in MDA and a significant increase in GSH and SOD. Ferulic acid also significantly reduced the interstitial fibrosis, and caspase 3 expression, and significantly increased the expression of Bcl2 and Ki67 in kidney tissues at 8 weeks after relief of the obstruction.

Conclusion: Ferulic acid enhances the recoverability of renal function and minimizes the renal damage through reduction of oxidative stress, tubular apoptosis and the interstitial fibrosis in the solitary kidney after relief of PUO.