The Nutraceutical Antihypertensive Action of C-Phycocyanin in Chronic Kidney Disease Is Related to the Prevention of Endothelial Dysfunction
Placido Rojas-Franco,
Erick Garcia-Pliego,
Alma Gricelda Vite-Aquino,
Margarita Franco-Colin,
Jose Ivan Serrano-Contreras,
Norma Paniagua-Castro,
Carlos Angel Gallardo-Casas,
Vanessa Blas-Valdivia,
Edgar Cano-Europa
Affiliations
Placido Rojas-Franco
Laboratorio de Metabolismo I, Departamento de Fisiología, Escuela Nacional de Ciencias Biológicas, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Ciudad de México 07738, Mexico
Erick Garcia-Pliego
Laboratorio de Metabolismo I, Departamento de Fisiología, Escuela Nacional de Ciencias Biológicas, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Ciudad de México 07738, Mexico
Alma Gricelda Vite-Aquino
Laboratorio de Neurobiología, Departamento de Fisiología, Escuela Nacional de Ciencias Biológicas, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Ciudad de México 07738, Mexico
Margarita Franco-Colin
Laboratorio de Metabolismo I, Departamento de Fisiología, Escuela Nacional de Ciencias Biológicas, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Ciudad de México 07738, Mexico
Jose Ivan Serrano-Contreras
Department of Metabolism, Digestion and Reproduction, Division of Systems Medicine, Section of Biomolecular Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, South Kensington Campus, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK
Norma Paniagua-Castro
Laboratorio de Farmacología del Desarrollo, Departamento de Fisiología, Escuela Nacional de Ciencias Biológicas, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Ciudad de México 07738, Mexico
Carlos Angel Gallardo-Casas
Centro de Investigación en Nutrición y Alimentación Universidad de Chalcatongo Sistema de Universidades Estatales de Oaxaca, Tlaxiaco 71100, Mexico
Vanessa Blas-Valdivia
Laboratorio de Neurobiología, Departamento de Fisiología, Escuela Nacional de Ciencias Biológicas, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Ciudad de México 07738, Mexico
Edgar Cano-Europa
Laboratorio de Metabolismo I, Departamento de Fisiología, Escuela Nacional de Ciencias Biológicas, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Ciudad de México 07738, Mexico
C-phycocyanin (CPC) is an antihypertensive that is not still wholly pharmacologically described. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether CPC counteracts endothelial dysfunction as an antihypertensive mechanism in rats with 5/6 nephrectomy (NFx) as a chronic kidney disease (CKD) model. Twenty-four male Wistar rats were divided into four groups: sham control, sham-treated with CPC (100 mg/Kg/d), NFx, and NFx treated with CPC. Blood pressure was measured each week, and renal function evaluated at the end of the treatment. Afterward, animals were euthanized, and their thoracic aortas were analyzed for endothelium functional test, oxidative stress, and NO production. 5/6 Nephrectomy caused hypertension increasing lipid peroxidation and ROS production, overexpression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), reduction in the first-line antioxidant enzymes activities, and reduced-glutathione (GSH) with a down-expression of eNOS. The vasomotor response reduced endothelium-dependent vasodilation in aorta segments exposed to acetylcholine and sodium nitroprusside. However, the treatment with CPC prevented hypertension by reducing oxidative stress, NO system disturbance, and endothelial dysfunction. The CPC treatment did not prevent CKD-caused disturbance in the antioxidant enzymes activities. Therefore, CPC exhibited an antihypertensive activity while avoiding endothelial dysfunction.