This study was designed to evaluate whether
glycogen synthase kinase-3β (GSK-3β) inhibitor,
4-benzyl-2-methyl-1,2,4-thiadiazolidine-3,5-dione (TDZD-8) induced the the expression of
connexin 43 (
Cx43) to protect against renal
ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury (RI/RI) in rats. Rats were subjected to 45 min
ischemia followed 2 h reperfusion with
TDZD-8 (1 mg/kg) for 5 min prior to reperfusion. The results indicated that
TDZD-8 improved the recovery of renal function, reduced oxidative stress and
inflammation injury, and upregulated the expression of (
Cx43) as compared to I/R group. Therefore, our study demonstrated that
TDZD-8 provided a protection to the kidney against I/R injury in rats through inducing the expression of (
Cx43).