Nephroprotective effects of Lippia sidoides ethanolic extract against ischemia/reperfusion-induced acute kidney injury

Abstract Ischemia/reperfusion injury (I/R) is commonly related to acute kidney injury (AKI) and oxidative stress. Antioxidant agents are used to treat this condition. Lippia sidoides is a brazillian shrub with anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative properties. Thus, the aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of Lippia sidoides ethanolic extract (LSEE) on in vivo and in vitro models of AKI induced by I/R. Male Wistar rats were submitted to unilateral nephrectomy and ischemia on contralateral kidney for 60 min via clamping followed by reperfusion for 48 h. They were divided into four groups: Sham, LSEE (sham-operated rats pre-treated with LSEE), I/R (rats submitted to ischemia) and I/R-LSEE (rats treated with LSEE before ischemia). Kidney tissues homogenates were used to determine stress parameters and nephrin expression. Plasma and urine samples were collected for biochemical analysis. I/R in vitro assays were evaluated by 3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-Diphenyltetrazolium Bromide (MTT) and flow cytometry assays in Rhesus Monkey Kidney Epithelial Cells (LLC-MK2). The LSEE treatment prevented biochemical and nephrin expression alterations, as well as oxidative stress parameters. In the in vitro assay, LSEE protected against cell death, reduced the reactive oxygen species and increased mitochondrial transmembrane potential. LSEE showed biotechnological potential for a new phytomedicine as a nephroprotective agent.

Endothelial activation is associated with albuminuria in multibacillary leprosy.

Leprosy may present kidney and endothelial abnormalities, being a risk factor for complications. However, the involvement of renal and vascular endothelia has been poorly investigated. We aimed to investigate if the levels of systemic endothelial biomarkers are associated with kidney abnormalities and the clinical forms of leprosy. This is a cross-sectional study with leprosy patients enrolled in January 2017 to December 2018, before the initiation of the multidrug therapy. Leprosy-associated clinical and epidemiological data were collected. Two groups were investigated: Paucibacillary (PB) and Multibacillary (MB) infections, for the comparisons. Serum and urine samples were obtained for laboratory analysis. In serum samples, were evaluated the endothelial biomarkers VCAM-1 and ICAM-1. In total, 101 leprosy patients were included, the mean age was 48±Ù¡Ù¥ years and 71 (70%) were male. The multibacillary form occurred in 81 cases (80%), among which 22 had the Virchowian form. Serum creatinine was more elevated in the MB group than in PB patients. In addition, VCAM-1 was elevated in the MB group and was correlated with the bacteriological index (rho = 0.372, p <0.01), the duration of disease symptoms (rho = 0.234, p = 0.04), and the number of skin lesions (rho = 0.468, p <0.001). Moreover, in MB patients who presented albuminuria >15 mg/g of creatinine, VCAM-1 showed a significant correlation with increased albuminuria and improved the correlation with the number of skin lesions (rho= 0.563, p=0.010). In conclusion, higher systemic VCAM-1 levels were associated with the multibacillary clinical form of leprosy and with increased albuminuria. Prospective studies are necessary to establish a cause-effect and evaluate the preventive role of these biomarkers to improve the clinical care.