The protective effect of erythropoietin pretreatment on ischemic acute renal failure in rats

Abstract

Objective: To investigate the protective effect of erythropoietin (EPO) pretreatment on ischemic acute renal failure in rats and its molecular mechanism. Methods: Male Sprague–Dawley rats were selected as experimental animals and they were randomly divided into the sham operation group (sham group), ischemia-reperfusion injury group (IRI group) and EPO pretreatment group (EPO group). Each group had 15 rats. Serum specimens and renal specimens were collected after a IRI model was built for 4, 12 and 24 h. The contents of creatinine, urea nitrogen tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-a), interleukin-1 (IL-1), IL-6 and IL-8 in serum and the contents of TNF-a, IL- 1, IL-6, IL-8, toll like receptor 4 (TLR4) and nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-kB) in the kidney tissue were determined. Results: After 4, 12 and 24 h reperfusion, there were differences between the contents of creatinine, urea nitrogen TNF-a, IL-1, IL-6 and IL-8 in serum and the contents of TNF-a, IL-1, IL-6, IL-8, TLR4 and NF-kB in rats of the three groups (P < 0.05). The contents of creatinine, urea nitrogen TNF-a, IL-1, IL-6 and IL-8 in serum and the contents of TNF-a, IL-1, IL-6, IL-8, TLR4 and NF-kB in the kidney tissue in rats of the IRI group were significantly higher than those of the sham group; and the contents of creatinine, urea nitrogen TNF-a, IL-1, IL-6 and IL-8 in serum and the contents of TNF-a, IL-1, IL-6, IL- 8, TLR4 and NF-kB in the kidney tissue in rats of the EPO group were distinctly lower than those of the IRI group. Conclusions: EPO pretreatment can protect the renal function of rats with ischemic acute renal failure by inhibiting the TLR4/NF-kB pathway mediated inflammatory responses.

Keywords

• Erythropoietin
• Acute kidney injury
• Ischemia-reperfusion injury
• Inflammatory response