Protective effect of curcumin against contrast induced nephropathy in rat kidney: what is happening to oxidative stress, inflammation, autophagy and apoptosis?

M. Buyuklu, F. Mehmet Kandemir, M. Ozkaraca, T. Set, E. Murat Bakirci, E. Topal

Department of Cardiology, Faculty of Medicine, Erzincan University, Erzincan, Turkey. mutlubuyuklu@gmail.com

 

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• Pharmacology

BACKGROUND: Currently, the number of imaging and interventional procedures that use contrast agents (CAs) is gradually increasing. Oxidative stress plays a significant role in its pathophysiology. Curcumin (CC) is a natural substance with strong antioxidant efficacy.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: In total, 24 male Wistar-albino rats were divided into four groups with seven rats in each group.

RESULTS: Biochemical measurements showed a significant increase (p < 0.001) in urea, creatinine and malondialdehyde (MDA) but a significant decrease (p < 0.001) in glutathione (GSH), superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) levels in the contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN) group compared with the control group. The immunohistochemical examination revealed a significant increase in autophagic and apoptotic cell death ratios and in the inflammatory signal (p < 0.05). Compared with the CIN group, a significant improvement in these unfavorable parameters was observed with CC therapy.

CONCLUSIONS: The preventive efficacy of CC against an experimental model of CIN has been demonstrated.

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