Fenofibrate reduces cisplatin-induced apoptosis of renal proximal tubular cells via inhibition of JNK and p38 pathways.

Cisplatin is widely used as a standard chemotherapy for solid tumors. The major adverse effect of cisplatin is nephrotoxicity in proximal tubular cells, via oxidative stress, DNA damage, cell apoptosis, and inflammation. The aim of this study was to investigate the pharmacological effect and mechanism of fibrate drugs on cisplatin-induced renal proximal tubular cell death. Cisplatin decreased cell viability of LLC-PK1 and HK-2 cells in a dose-dependent manner. Cisplatin-induced apoptosis was attenuated by co-treatment with fenofibrate while less so with clofibrate and bezafibrate. Fenofibrate's protective effect was not complimented by co-treatment with GW6471, a PPARα antagonist, indicating the protective effect occurred via a PPARα-independent mechanism. Treating cells with cisplatin induced reactive oxygen species (ROS), c-JUN N-terminal kinase (JNK), and p38 kinase (p38), but not extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK). Fenofibrate reversed cisplatin-induced JNK and p38 activation, but had no effect on ROS production. The findings suggest fenofibrate's protective effect on cisplatin-induced cytotoxicity is mediated by inhibition of JNK and p38. Moreover, fenofibrate did not alter cisplatin's antitumor effect on cancer cell lines including T84, SW-480, HepG2, and SK-LU-1 cells. Therefore, fenofibrate may be a candidate agent for further development as an adjuvant to cisplatin treatment.