Research Information System
BRITISH JOURNAL OF RADIOLOGY, vol.89, no.1061, 2016 (SCI-Expanded)
Objective: To study the potential nephroprotective role of agomelatine in rat renal tissue in cases of contrastinduced nephrotoxicity (CIN). The drug's action on the antioxidant system and proinflammatory cytokines, superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity, levels of glutathione (GSH) and malondialdehyde (MDA) and the gene expression of interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-a and nuclear factor kappa B (NF-kB) was measured. Tubular necrosis and hyaline and haemorrhagic casts were also histopathologically evaluated. Methods: The institutional ethics and local animal care committees approved the study. Eight groups of six rats were put on the following drug regimens: Group 1: healthy controls, Group 2: GLY (glycerol), Group 3: CM (contrast media-iohexol 10 ml kg21), Group 4: GLY1CM, Group 5: CM1AGO20 (agomelatine 20mgkg21), Group 6: GLY1 CM1AGO20, Group 7: CM1AGO40 (agomelatine 40mgkg21) and Group 8: GLY1CM1AGO40. The groups were evaluated by one-way analysis of variance and Duncan's multiple comparison test. Results: Agomelatine administration significantly improved the serum levels of blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and creatinine, SOD activity, GSH and MDA. The use of agomelatine had substantial downregulatory consequences on TNF-a, NF-kB and IL-6 messenger RNA levels. Mild-to-severe hyaline and haemorrhagic casts and tubular necrosis were observed in all groups, except in the healthy group. The histopathological scores were better in the agomelatine treatment groups. Conclusion: Agomelatine has nephroprotective effects against CIN in rats. This effect can be attributed to its properties of reducing oxidative stress and inhibiting the secretion of proinflammatory cytokines (NF-kB, TNF-a and IL-6).