Abstract
Background
Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is a serious microvascular complication of diabetes mellitus (DM) and the major cause of end‐stage renal disease. The pathogenesis of DN is multifactorial. Indeed, advanced glycation end products, inflammation and oxidative stress were shown to significantly contribute to DN development/progression.
Aim of the work
Given the reported beneficial biological effects of phenethyl isothiocyanate (PEITC), the present study aims to evaluate the potential protective effects of PEITC in streptozotocin (STZ)‐induced diabetic Sprague Dawley rats.
Methods
PEITC was administrated at 3, 10, 30 mg/kg/day for 8 weeks after confirming experimental induction of DM. Renal function (creatinine, urea, proteinuria), hypertrophy index, inflammation (NLRP3/TXNIP/Caspase‐1 and pro‐inflammatory cytokines IL‐1β,TNF‐α, IL‐6), redox homeostasis (Nrf2/Keap1/HO1/γGCS, lipid peroxidation, total antioxidant capacity, and antioxidants GSH, SOD) and protein glycation (AGE/RAGE/GLO1) were assessed by spectrophotometry, ELISA and immunohistochemistry. Moreover, renal structural and ultra‐structural alterations were evaluated.
Results
According to our results, PEITC administration improved renal function, restored oxidant/antioxidant balance, diminished TXNIP/NLRP3‐dependent inflammation and suppressed glycative stress in a dose dependent manner. Furthermore, results from histological and electron microscopy studies revealed preservation of renal structure by PEITC treatment.
Conclusion
These findings underline for the first time that PEITC confers a considerable protection against diabetes‐induced kidney injury, suggesting potential use of PEITC as early therapeutic intervene that might slow down the progression of DN via multifactorial pathways targeting.