Protective Effects Of L-Carnitine On The Cisplatin-induced Kidney Damage In Rats

OBJECTIVE:Cisplatin(Cis-diamminedichloroplatinum, DDP)is an effective broad-spectrum chemotherapeutics which has been widely used currently. It's mainly used to treat the cancers of the head, neck, testis, ovary and so on. However, it also brings about many serious side effects such as symptoms of alimentary tract, ototoxicity, bone marrow suppression, hepatotoxicity and especially nephrotoxicity. Thus, how to prevent these side effects of cisplatin is one of the major issues in treating patients with cancer. So it is important for us to study on preventing the nephrotoxicity of cisplatin. L-Carnitine(LC) is a natural nutrient and essential for theβ-oxidation of fatty acids in mitochondria. Besides, the antioxidation and anti-apoptotic effect of carnitine have been tested by many studies recently and its cytoprotection for nervous and cardiovascular system also is proved. So in this study we observed and researched the protective effects of LC on the cisplatin-induced kidney damage in rats, and attempted to provid some significant experimental bases for the prevention of nephrotoxicity in cisplatin-treated patients with cancer.METHODS:Female adult Wistar rats(190-210g) were randomly divided into Control group, DDP group, LC+DDP group, 12 in each group. Control group and DDP group were fed with a basic diet, while LC+DDP group were added 1%LC. After 7 days, DDP group and LC+DDP group received cisplatin i.p.(5mg/kg body weight), while Control group received normal saline i.p. After 4 days, rats were killed and the kidney samples were collected. The renal function was assessed by testing the levels of Cr and BUN in serum. The extent of lipid peroxidation in the kidney was evaluated by measuring malondialdehyde (MDA) and glutathione(GSH) in the kidney tissue homogenate. The kidney morphological structure was also observed under light microscope and transmission electron microscope(TEM). The...