Abstract
Cisplatin (Cisp) is a widely distributed chemotherapeutic drug for cancers. Nephrotoxicity is one of the most common side effects of the use of this drug. Carvacrol (CV) is a common natural compound in essential oils and extracts of medicinal plants with potent in vivo and in vitro bioactivities. The work was extended to achieve the target of investigation of the protective potentialities of CV and its nanoemulsion as a cytoprotective drug against Cisp-induced nephrotoxicity in albino rats. CV-nanoemulsion was prepared by a hydrophilic surfactant polysorbate 80 (Tween 80) and deionized water. The TEM image of the particle distribution prepared nanoemulsion is mainly spherical in shape with particle size varying between 14 and 30 nm. Additionally, the Cisp administration caused the increasing of the levels of urea and creatinine in the blood and serum. These increasing of urea and creatinine levels caused consequently the turbulence of the oxidative stress as well as the rising of hs-CRP, IL-6, and TNF-alpha levels in the serum. Also, histopathological changes of the kidney tissue were observed. These changes back to normal by treatment with CV-nanoemulsion. Expression levels of nephrotoxicity-related genes including LGALS3, VEGF, and CAV1 in kidney tissue using qRT-PCR were measured. The results revealed that the expression of LGALS3, VEGF and CAV1 genes was highly significantly increased in only Cisp treated group when compared with other treated groups. While, these genes expressions were significantly decreased in Cisp + CV treated group when compared with Cisp treated rats (P < 0.001). In addition, there were no significant differences between Cisp + nano-CV treated group and both negative control and nanoemulsion alone groups but it was not significant. In addition, the Western blot of protein analysis results showed that the LGALS3 and CAV1 are highly expressed only in Cisp + CV treated group compared with other groups. There was no significant difference between Cisp + nano-CV treated animals and negative control for both mRNA and protein expression. Based on these results, CV was combined with calcium alginate; a more stable capsule is formed, allowing for the formation of a double wall in the microcapsule. These results supported the therapeutic effect of CV and its nano-emulsion as cytoprotective agents against Cisp nephrotoxicity.