Abstract
Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a global epidemic associated with great socioeconomic and public health impact. Prevalence of the MetS has been consistently associated with cardiorenal mortality. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of allopurinol treatment on various components of an established MetS in rats. In a first group, MetS was induced in male Wistar rats by the addition of 10% fructose to drinking water and placing the rats on high-fat and high-salt diet for 12 weeks (M). In the second group, MetS was induced for 12 weeks plus allopurinol administration (20 mg/kg/d) orally for 4 weeks starting at week 9 (MA). The third group was control (C) group that received a normal diet. The M group had higher blood pressure (BP) (85.5 ± 3.17 vs 66.1 ± 3.3 mm Hg) and proteinuria (1.8 ± 0.3 vs 0.59 ± 0.13 g/d) compared with the C group. Allopurinol reversed the BP and proteinuria in MA rats to the control level. Allopurinol administration suppressed the low-grade inflammation associated with MetS and reversed the increases in kidney transforming growth factor beta and urine 8-isoprostane acid observed in the MA group to control levels. In addition, allopurinol reduced angiotensin II and angiotensin receptor type 1 levels in the kidney of MA rats compared with the M group. The administration of allopurinol for short term in an established MetS model reduced features of the MetS especially hypertension and proteinuria. Addition of allopurinol to the therapy of MetS may provide superior means to alleviate hypertension and proteinuria associated with MetS.