Curcumin protects rats against gentamicin-induced nephrotoxicity by amelioration of oxidative stress, endoplasmic reticulum stress and apoptosis

Context Gentamicin (GM) is an aminoglycoside antibiotic which is commonly used against Gram-negative bacterial infection; however, serious complications including nephrotoxicity could limit its clinical use. Objective The present study examined the protective effects of curcumin (CUR) on endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress-mediated apoptosis through its antioxidative property in GM-induced nephrotoxicity in rats. Materials and methods Male Sprague-Dawley rats (n = 3) were divided into six groups to receive normal saline (control), GM (100 mg/kg/day), co-treatment with GM and CUR (100, 200 and 300 mg/kg/day) and CUR (200 mg/kg/day) alone for 15 days by gavage feeding. Then, the renal function, kidney injury as well as oxidative stress, antioxidative markers and ER stress-mediated apoptosis were evaluated. Results Pre-treatment of CUR rescued the nephrotoxicity in GM-treated rats. Several nephrotoxicity hallmarks were reversed in the CUR-pre-treatment group. At the dose of 200 mg/kg/day, it could significantly lower serum creatinine (from 0.95 to 0.50 mg/dL), blood urea nitrogen (from 35.00 to 23.50 mg/dL) and augmented creatinine clearance (from 0.83 to 1.71 mL/min). The normalized expression of oxidative stress marker, malondialdehyde was decreased (from 13.00 to 5.98) in line with the increase of antioxidant molecules including superoxide dismutase (from 5.59 to 14.24) and glutathione (from 5.22 to 12.53). Furthermore, the renal ER stress and apoptotic protein biomarkers were lowered in CUR treatment. Discussion and conclusions Our findings pave the way for the application of CUR as a supplement in the prevention of nephrotoxicity and other kidney diseases in the future.

Automated summary

The study demonstrated that pre-treatment with CUR could alleviate GM-induced nephrotoxicity in rats by restoring kidney function and reducing oxidative stress, as evidenced by decreased levels of creatinine and blood urea nitrogen, increased creatinine clearance, and normalized expression of antioxidant and ER stress markers. CUR's antioxidative properties also contributed to the reduction in ER stress and apoptotic protein biomarkers in the kidney. These findings suggest that CUR could be a potential supplement for preventing nephrotoxicity and other kidney diseases in the future.