Protective effect of aliskiren against renal ischemia reperfusion via antioxidant property and nitric oxide signaling pathway

Introduction: Renal ischemia reperfusion (RIR) is created following different mechanisms such as oxidative stress and inflammation. Objectives: The roles of chemical drugs, including aliskiren, have been evaluated in various kidney diseases. Hence, we assessed the effect of aliskiren on renal ischemia reperfusion. Materials and Methods: Fifty male Wistar rats (220±10 g) were grouped randomly in five groups; 1. Healthy control group, 2. Ischemia of reperfusion (IR) control group, 3. Rats with IR which received 30 mg/kg aliskiren orally, 4. Rats with IR which received 30 mg/kg aliskiren together with 40 mg/kg L-NAME, 5. Rats with IR which received 30 mg/kg aliskiren together with 40 mg/kg L-arginine. To induce ischemiareperfusion, rats were anesthetized treated with thiopental and went under surgery. Then, we revealed the left and right kidneys, and we induced ischemia with blocking blood vessels for 45 minutes by clamping. Biochemical parameters including urea and creatinine were measured using commercial kits with auto analyzer. Oxidative stress and inflammatory parameters were evaluated using ELISA method. Renal tissues were stained with hematoxylin and eosin. Finally, Kolmogorov-Smirnov test was applied to determine the normal distribution of data. Results: Our results showed that treatment with aliskiren and aliskiren plus L-arginine causes a significant decrease in the serum levels of creatinine, urea, albumin/creatinine and malondialdehyde (MDA), in contrast with IR control group which has increased level of these parameters. On the other hand, treatment with aliskiren and aliskiren plus L-arginine leads to increase in the serum levels of glutathione peroxidase (GPX) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) in contrast with IR control group. Conclusion: The protective effect of aliskiren has been proven in different kidney diseases such as RIR and diabetic nephropathy. Our results demonstrated that aliskiren could be proposed as a therapeutic agent against renal ischemia complications.