Elsevier

Urology

Volume 62, Issue 2, August 2003, Pages 353-356
Urology

Basic science
Carbon tetrachloride-induced nephrotoxicity and protective effect of betaine in Sprague-Dawley rats

The histologic findings of this study were presented during the VIth National Histology and Embryology Congress, September 12–15, 2002, Istanbul, Turkey.
https://doi.org/10.1016/S0090-4295(03)00255-3Get rights and content

Abstract

Objectives

To observe the changes in the antioxidative defense enzymes and to detect the alterations of renal microscopy after carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) administration in rats and to investigate the possible protective effects of betaine against CCl4-induced renal damage.

Methods

Thirty-two adult Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into four groups as follows: control group, betaine group, CCl4 group, and CCl4 + betaine group. CCl4 was given subcutaneously at 1 mL/kg. In the CCl4 + betaine group, rats were pretreated with betaine, then exposed to CCl4 at the same dose. Betaine group rats received concentrated betaine solution. The rats were killed and the kidneys taken for enzyme analyses and histologic examination. Glutathione peroxidase, superoxide dismutase, and catalase activities were measured in right kidney homogenates. Left kidneys were processed for light microscopic evaluation.

Results

In the CCl4-treated group, significant increases in kidney superoxide dismutase and catalase activities and significant decrease in glutathione peroxidase activity were observed (P <0.01). These changes were found to be normalized in the CCl4 + betaine group. Betaine did not change the enzyme activities. Exposure to CCl4 resulted in glomerular and tubular alterations in the renal cortex. These alterations were found to be prevented by betaine pretreatment.

Conclusions

These results indicate that exposure to CCl4 leads to renal damage in rats and betaine exerts an improvement on nephrotoxic effects of CCl4.

Section snippets

Animals and experimental groups

Thirty-two adult Sprague-Dawley rats weighing 175 to 225 g were used in this study. The rats were randomly divided into four groups and were treated as follows. The control group (n = 8) was given subcutaneous (SC) injections of olive oil (1 mL/kg) and intragastric administration of water (0.7 mL/kg), daily for 11 days. The betaine group (n = 8) was given SC olive oil (1 mL/kg) and 0.7 mL intragastric concentrated betaine solution (830 mg/kg betaine dissolved in water) daily for 11 days. The CCl

Results

The results of the statistical evaluation of renal SOD, GSH-Px, and CAT activities are shown in Table I. When compared with the control group, SOD and CAT activities were significantly elevated in the CCl4 group (P <0.01). The SOD activities of the betaine and CCl4 + betaine groups were not significantly different from that of the control group. However, CAT activity was found to be greater in the CCl4 + betaine group than in the control group (P <0.01). GSH-Px activity in the CCl4 group was

Comment

Kidney failure is one of the leading causes of death in CCl4 intoxication. However, the published data on CCl4 nephrotoxicity are scanty. The effects of CCl4 on hepatocytes has been widely studied,2, 3, 4, 5 and according to these studies, the toxic effect of CCl4 on hepatocyte is due to its metabolic conversion by the NADPH-cytochrome P450 metabolizing enzyme system to the highly reactive toxic free radical CCl3. The free radicals cause the peroxidation of the polyenoic lipids of the

Conclusions

In the present study, we found that CCl4 causes renal damage in rats. Glomerular and cortical tubular necrosis were detected in CCl4-treated rats. CCl4 significantly altered SOD, GSH-Px, and CAT levels, indicating that oxygen radicals play an important role in CCl4-induced renal damage. Betaine treatment normalized SOD and GSH-Px enzyme levels and improved the CCl4-induced histologic changes.

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