Treatment with catalpol protects against cisplatin-induced renal injury through Nrf2 and NF-κB signaling pathways

Jun Zhang; Li Liu; Furong Li; Zongqian Wang; Jinghong Zhao

doi:10.3892/etm.2020.9077

Treatment with catalpol protects against cisplatin-induced renal injury through Nrf2 and NF-κB signaling pathways

Exp Ther Med. 2020 Oct;20(4):3025-3032. doi: 10.3892/etm.2020.9077. Epub 2020 Jul 29.

Authors

Jun Zhang¹, Li Liu¹, Furong Li¹, Zongqian Wang¹, Jinghong Zhao¹

Affiliation

¹ Department of Nephrology, The key Laboratory for the Prevention and Treatment of Chronic Kidney Disease of Chongqing, Kidney Center of PLA, Xinqiao Hospital, Army Medical University (Third Military Medical University), Chongqing 400037, P.R. China.

Abstract

Cisplatin (CP) is one of the most widely used chemotherapy drugs for cancer treatment, but it often leads to nephrotoxicity. It is well known that catalpol exhibits antioxidant and anti-inflammatory functions, thus the present study aimed to investigate the potential protective effects of catalpol on CP-induced kidney injury in rats, in addition to determining the underlying mechanisms. Sprague-Dawley rats were treated with 25, 50 or 100 mg/kg catalpol for two days, injected with 20 mg/kg cisplatin and catalpol on day 3 and sacrificed on day 4. The histological analysis of isolated kidney tissues was performed using hematoxylin and eosin staining, cleaved caspase-3 expression levels were analyzed using western blotting and the expression levels of inflammatory cytokines in the tissues, including tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α), interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10 and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) were evaluated using ELISAs. Furthermore, the mRNA and protein expression levels of nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2), heme oxygenase 1 (HO-1), kelch-like ECH-associated protein 1 (Keap1), NF-κB and inhibitory κB (IκB) were determined using reverse transcription-quantitative PCR and western blotting, respectively. The results revealed that the treatment with catalpol prevented the histopathological injury and renal dysfunction caused by CP. In addition, catalpol significantly suppressed the CP-induced apoptosis of tubular cells, inhibited the CP-induced upregulation of TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8 and iNOS and promoted the production of the anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10. Additionally, the mRNA and protein expression levels of Nrf2, HO-1 and IκB in the kidney tissues were increased, whereas the expression levels of Keap1 and NF-κB were significantly decreased following the treatment with catalpol. In conclusion, these results suggested that catalpol may inhibit CP-induced renal injury and suppress the associated inflammatory response through activating the Nrf2 and inhibiting the NF-κB signaling pathways, respectively.

Keywords: NF-κB; anti-inflammation; catalpol; cisplatin; nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2; renal injury.