RESUMO
Autophagy is a fundamental cellular process that maintains homeostasis and cell integrity, under stress conditions. Although the involvement of autophagy in various conditions has been elucidated, the role of autophagy in renal structure is not completely clarified. Our aim was to investigate the cytoprotective effect of autophagy against acute kidney injury (AKI) through cisplatin deteriorative pathway, which leads to AKI via renal cell degradation. For in vivo experiments, male Sprague Dawley rats were divided in to 2 groups (n = 6/group) as control, Cis-5D. Following a single intraperitoneal injection of cisplatin, rats were sacrificed after 5 days. Blood urea nitrogen (BUN), creatinine (Cr) and histological alterations were examined. Further, expression of key regulators of autophagy, light-clain 3 (LC3), p62, and Beclin1, was evaluated by immunohistochemistry (IHC). The rats exhibited severe renal dysfunction, indicated by elevated BUN, Cr. Hematoxylin and eosin staining revealed histological damages in cisplatin-treated rats. Furthermore, IHC analysis revealed increased expression of LC3, Beclin1 and decreased expression of p62. Furthermore, expression of aforementioned autophagy markers was restricted to proximal tubule. Taken together, our study demonstrated that cisplatin can cause nephrotoxicity and lead to AKI. This phenomenon accelerated autophagy in renal proximal tubules and guards against AKI.