Cytoprotective effect of vitamin C against gentamicin-induced acute kidney injury in rats

Since gentamicin-induced nephrotoxicity has very important clinical consequences, different potentially therapeutic approaches to prevent or attenuate it have been proposed. Accordingly, this study aimed at determining the possible protective effects of vitamin C against gentamicin-associated acute kidney injury. Experiments were done on 40 adult Wistar rats divided into four groups of 10 animals each. G-group received gentamicin (100 mg/kg) while GVC-group received the same dose of gentamicin and vitamin C (200 mg/kg) by intraperitoneal injections on a daily basis. Animals in VC-group, serving as a positive control, received only vitamin C (200 mg/kg), and those in C-group, serving as a negative control, received saline (1 ml/day), both given intraperitoneally. All groups were treated during 8 consecutive days. Quantitative evaluation of gentamicin-induced structural alterations and degree of functional alterations of kidney were performed by histopathological, morphometrical and biochemical analyses in order to determine potential beneficial effects of vitamin C co-administration with gentamicin. In G-group the proximal convoluted tubules showed cytoplasm vacuolation with dark inclusions in the epithelial cells and coagulation-type necrosis, while in GVC-group necrosis was not observed. The glomerular basement membrane was significantly thickened (p < 0.05) in G-group animals than in other groups. Nuclear optical density of the tubular epithelial cells in GVC-group was significantly higher (p < 0.05) compared to G-group. Blood urea and serum creatinine concentration were significantly elevated, while potassium concentration was lowered in G-group compared to other groups (p < 0.01 for each). Concomitant administration of gentamicin and vitamin C resulted in a significant reduction of morphological and functional kidney alterations. (C) 2010 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.