Protective effect of antioxidant on renal damage caused by doxorubicin chemotherapy in mice with hepatic cancer

Alarming impact of the excessive use of tert-butylhydroquinone in food products: A narrative review

Tert-butyl hydroquinone (TBHQ) is a food additive commonly used as a more effective protectant in the food, cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries. However, the long-term exposure to TBHQ at higher doses (0.7 mg/kg) results in substantial danger to public health and brings a series of side effects, including cytotoxic, genotoxic, carcinogenic, and mutagenic effects. As a result, the global burden of chronic diseases has fascinated consumers and governments regarding the safety assessment of food additives. Regarding contradictory reports of various research about the application of food additives, the accurate monitoring of food additives is urgent. Notwithstanding, there are reports of the therapeutic effects of TBHQ under pathologic conditions through activation of nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2. Thus, further investigations are required to investigate the impact of TBHQ on public health and evaluate its mechanism of action on various organs and cells. Therefore, this review aimed to investigate TBHQ safety through an overview of its impacts on different tissues, cells, and biological macromolecules as well as its therapeutic effects under pathologic conditions.

Nano-Resveratrol: A Promising Candidate for the Treatment of Renal Toxicity Induced by Doxorubicin in Rats Through Modulation of Beclin-1 and mTOR

Background: Although doxorubicin (DXR) is one of the most used anticancer drugs, it can cause life-threatening renal damage. There has been no effective treatment for DXR-induced renal damage until now.

Aim: This work aims at examining the potential impact of nano-resveratrol (N-Resv), native resveratrol (Resv), and their combination with carvedilol (Card) against DXR-induced renal toxicity in rats and to investigate the mechanisms through which these antioxidants act to ameliorate DXR nephrotoxicity. Method: DXR was administered to rats (2 mg/kg, i.p.) twice weekly over 5 weeks. The antioxidants in question were taken 1 week before the DXR dose for 6 weeks.

Results: DXR exhibited an elevation in serum urea, creatinine, renal lipid peroxide levels, endoglin expression, kidney injury molecule-1 (KIM-1), and beclin-1. On the other hand, renal podocin and mTOR expression and GSH levels were declined. In addition, DNA fragmentation was markedly increased in the DXR-administered group. Treatment with either Resv or N-Resv alone or in combination with Card ameliorated the previously measured parameters.

Conclusion: N-Resv showed superior effectiveness relative to Resv in most of the measured parameters. Histopathological examination revealed amelioration of renal structural and cellular changes after DXR by Card and N-Resv, thus validating the previous biochemical and molecular results.

P-Coumaric Acid Mitigates Doxorubicin-Induced Nephrotoxicity Through Suppression of Oxidative Stress, Inflammation and Apoptosis

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

P-Coumaric acid (PCA) is one the compound that has free radical scavenging effects. This study investigates the protective effect of PCA on tissue damage in DOX-induced nephrotoxicity.

METHODS

Thirty two Wistar rats were divided into control, PCA, DOX (15 mg/kg, i.p.) and DOX plus PCA (100 mg/kg, orally) groups. DOX-induced nephrotoxicity was indicated by marked increase in blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and serum creatinine (Cr) compared to controls. DOX group also showed elevations in lipid peroxidation and reductions in enzyme activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and catalase (CAT). Expression of renal inflammatory cytokines including tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) and interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β) and apoptosis were also elevated in the DOX group.

RESULTS

PCA significantly reversed, nephrotoxicity induced by DOX via lowering BUN, serum Cr and improving histopathological scores as compared to the DOX group. PCA also decreased lipid peroxidation, increased activities of GPx, SOD and CAT, to levels relatively comparable to control. Significant reductions in expression of TNF-α, IL-1β and apoptosis were also observed following Co-administration of PCA relative to the DOX group.

CONCLUSIONS

Results describe a protective effect of PCA against DOX-induced nephrotoxicity. This effect is likely facilitated through inhibition of oxidative stress, inflammation and apoptosis.

A medicinal and edible formula YH0618 ameliorates the toxicity induced by Doxorubicin via regulating the expression of Bax/Bcl-2 and FOXO4

Chemotherapy is the most common and powerful cancer treatment. Although the nasty side effects seriously influence the clinical practice, no better ways can displace it. Therefore, searching for safe and effective strategies designed to ameliorate chemotherapy-induced toxicity has become an urgent issue in cancer research area. In clinical, a medicinal and edible formula YH0618 showed the effects of reducing the DOX-induced toxicity, especially improving alopecia, nail discoloration, skin hyperpigmentation and fatigue. This study was to investigate the role and mechanism of YH0618 in ameliorating DOX-induced toxicity by in vitro and in vivo experiments. YH0618 selectively attenuated DOX-induced growth inhibition and apoptosis in human normal liver L02 cells and kidney HEK-293 cells, and simultaneously potentiated the anti-cancer effect of DOX in breast cancer MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 cells by apoptosis pathways. Western blotting results revealed that YH0618 attenuated DOX-induced apoptosis in normal liver and kidney cells through FOXO4-mediated mitochondria-dependent mechanism. Animal experiments demonstrated that, YH0618 did not interfere in DOX-induced reduction in tumor volume and significantly improved DOX-induced hair loss and the increase of alanine aminotransferase (ALT). Histological characteristics showed that YH0618 attenuated DOX-induced heart, liver and kidney damage. The study may shed light on the potential application of YH0618 as a novel medicinal food against chemotherapy-induced toxicity.

Proanthocyanidins Protect against β-Hydroxybutyrate-Induced Oxidative Damage in Bovine Endometrial Cells

Metabolic diseases, such as ketosis, are closely associated with decreased reproductive performance (such as delayed estrus and decreased pregnancy rate) in dairy cows. The change of β-hydroxybutyrate (BHBA) concentration in dairy cattle is an important mechanism leading to ketosis, and its blood concentration in ketotic cows is always significantly higher than in nonketotic cows. Many studies indicated that BHBA can induce oxidative damage in liver and other organs. Proanthocyanidins (PCs) have gained substantial attention in the last decade as strong antioxidative substances. This study aimed to demonstrate a protective effect of PCs against BHBA-induced oxidative stress damage in bovine endometrial (BEND) cells by activating the nuclear erythroid2-related factor2 (Nrf2) signaling pathway. Our research show that PCs could significantly increase activities of catalase (CAT) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-PX), glutathione (GSH) content, and antioxidant capacity (T-AOC), while significantly decreasing malondialdehyde (MDA) content in BEND cells. Both mRNA and protein expression levels of Nrf2 were significantly increased in BEND cells, and glutamate–cysteine ligase catalytic subunit (GCLC), heme oxygenase 1 (HO-1), manganese superoxide dismutase (Mn-SOD), and NAD(P)Hquinone dehydrogenase 1 (NQO-1) were also significantly increased. These results indicate that PCs can antagonize BHBA-induced oxidative damage by activating the Nrf2 signaling pathway to exert an antioxidant effect.

Regular voluntary running has favorable histological effects on doxorubicin-induced kidney toxicity in Wistar rats

Knowing the therapeutic effects of regular physical exercise on kidney toxicity induced by a single dose of doxorubicin (DOX) in animal models, the aim of this study is to verify the effectiveness of regular voluntary running on kidney histology after a prolonged DOX administration, mimicking a chemotherapy protocol. Thirty-four male Wistar rats were randomly divided into two clusters: DOX (n = 17) and SSS (sterile saline solution, n = 17), receiving a weekly intraperitoneal injection of DOX (2 mg/kg) or vehicle for 7 weeks, respectively. Two weeks after the last injection, five animals from each cluster (SSSG, n = 5; DOXG, n = 5) were euthanized, while the remaining ones were divided into sedentary (DOXsed, n = 6; SSSsed, n = 6) and active subgroups (DOXact, n = 6; SSSact, n = 6). Active animals were placed individually in cages with a running wheel for regular voluntary activity. After 2 months, the animals were euthanized and kidneys were histologically examined. Compared to SSSG, kidneys from DOXG revealed higher levels of damage, more collagen content and thickening of Bowman's capsule (p < .05). The levels of damage and thickness of Bowman's capsule increased in DOXsed as compared to DOXG (p < .05). Compared to DOXsed, the DOXact presented an overall improvement in kidney structure (p < .05), with a decrease in collagen content and of the thickness of Bowman's capsule. The results allow concluding that regular voluntary running attenuate the long-term harmful effects on kidney structure induced by a prolonged DOX treatment. These results, supporting the potential benefit of physical activity in patients under DOX treatment, need to be tested in humans.