Publication Details
Abstract
Renal ischemia-reperfusion represents the major cause of acute kidney injury, causing oxidative stress and inflammation in renal tissue. Assessment the relative and combined protective effects of these agents on renal histopathological changes following ischemia-reperfusion injury in male rats. A total of 30 healthy adult male rats were purchased, acclimated, and divided randomly and equally to six groups as following: sham (neither treated nor surgically operated), ischemia-reperfusion (subjected to initiation of left renal ischemia by reperfusion for 1 hour), vitamin C treatment (administered 150mg/kg ascorbic acid intravenously immediately at beginning of reperfusion), vitamin E treatment (received 100mg/kg vitamin E intramuscularly 15 minutes before reperfusion), hydrocortisone treatment (received 50mg/kg hydrocortisone intravenously immediately at beginning of reperfusion), and combination therapy (underwent ischemia-reperfusion and received vitamins C and E as well as hydrocortisone). After scarification, renal tissues of study rats were collected, processed histopathologically, and examined under light microscopic. Histological examination of kidney sections showed that renal architecture of Sham group was normal and no degeneration and necrosis were observed with histopathological scores recorded at zero. In contrast, renal injury was seen in ischemia-reperfusion group; in which, severe vacuolar degeneration and necrosis proximal and distal tubules, swollen in tubular epithelial cells, cytoplasmic vacuolization, loss of brush border, sloughing of epithelial cells from basement membrane, tubular necrosis, atrophic glomeruli, and marked vascular congestion and hemorrhage in interstitium. For vitamin C group, there was a reduction in severity of tubular injury with mild degenerative changes in proximal tubular epithelium and renal structure. Concerning the vitamin E and hydrocortisone, renal sections were moderately improved and tubular degeneration was lessened. Regarding vitamin E group, mild to moderate degeneration; while, in hydrocortisone group, moderate vacuolar degeneration but less frequent necrosis was observed. Among all treated groups, combination treatment group showed the higher scores of tubular degenerations, tubular necrosis, tubule-interstitial inflammation, and total histological score suggesting the highest protective power. Administration of a combination of vitamins C and E with hydrocortisone were synergistically protect ischemia-reperfusion injured kidney and almost completely prevents destruction of tubular structure and inflammation in reperfused kidneys. However, furthermore studies are of great importance to support our work.