Abstract
Cisplatin (CDDP) is one of the most frequently prescribed chemotherapy medications. However, its nephrotoxicity which often leads to acute kidney injury (AKI), greatly limits its clinical application. Chrysophanol (CHR), a mainly active anthraquinone ingredient, possesses various biological and pharmacological activities. In this study, we aimed to investigate the underlying protective mechanisms of CHR against CDDP-induced AKI (CDDP-AKI) using C57BL/6 mouse and human proximal tubule epithelial cells. In vivo, we found that pre-treatment with CHR greatly relieved CDDP-AKI and improved the kidney function and morphology. The mechanistic studies indicated that it might alleviate CDDP-AKI by inhibiting oxidative stress, apoptosis, and IKKβ/IκBα/p65/transcription factor nuclear kappa B (NF-κB) inflammation signaling pathway induced by CDDP. Moreover, we found that the cell viability of HK2 cells reduced by CDDP was partially rescued by CHR pre-incubation. Flow cytometry results further indicated that CHR pre-incubation suppressed CDDP induced cellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation and inhibited cell apoptosis in a dose-dependent manner. In summary, our results suggested that CHR might be a novel therapy for CDDP-induced AKI.