Chronic renal failure can ultimately lead to
kidney transplantation.
Renal transplantation is associated with
ischemia-reperfusion injury (I/R).2 The subsequent processes of kidney I/R can lead to irreversible damages to the kidney tissue.
Glatiramer acetate is an immunomodulatory drug for the treatment of
multiple sclerosis (MS) and the anti-inflammatory effects of this drug have already been proven in some inflammatory models. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the protective effects of
Glatiramer on reducing the damages arising from kidney
ischemia-reperfusion. In this study, 35 Wistar rats were used which divided into 5 groups:
sham, control (I/R), I/R + Glatiramer 0.5 mg/kg, I/R + Glatiramer 1 mg/kg, I/R + Glatiramer 2 mg/kg. Renal arteries were clamped bilaterally for 45 min, then the clamps were removed and the reperfusion process continued to 24 h. In the following, serum and kidneys were separated for analysis. In the control group, serum levels of LDH, inflammatory factor TNF-α and renal functional markers such as BUN and
Creatinine were remarkably increased, but in the treatment groups, especially in
Glatiramer 2 mg/kg received group, a significant decrease in these factors was observed. Tissue concentration of MDA was reduced following
Glatiramer treatment. Besides,
Glatiramer attenuated the increased kidney level of NF-κB
protein using immunohistochemical assay. NFkB migration to the nucleolus increases inflammatory
cytokines production. The anti-inflammatory factor,
IL-10, in serum was significantly increased in the treatment group of
Glatiramer 2 mg/kg. Furthermore,
Glatiramer decreased renal tissue injury score according to the histopathological study. These results demonstrate that
Glatiramer may play protective effects in kidney
ischemia-reperfusion injury by reducing inflammatory and oxidative damages.