Abstract
Alamandine (Ala) is a novel member of the renin-angiotensin-system (RAS) family. The present study aimed to explore the effects of Ala on hypertension and renal damage of Dahl salt-sensitive (SS) rats high-salt diet-induced, and the mechanisms of Ala on renal-damage alleviation. Dahl rats were fed with high-salt diets to induce hypertension and renal damage in vivo, and HK-2 cells were treated with sodium chloride (NaCl) to induce renal injury in vitro. Ala administration alleviated the high-salt diet-induced hypertension, renal dysfunction, and renal fibrosis and apoptosis in Dahl SS rats. The HK-2 cells' damage, and the increases in the levels of cleaved (c)-caspase3, c-caspase8, and c-poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) induced by NaCl were inhibited by Ala. Ala attenuated the NaCl-induced oxidative stress in the kidney and HK-2 cells. DETC, an inhibitor of SOD, reversed the inhibitory effect of Ala on the apoptosis of HK-2 cells induced by NaCl. The NaCl-induced increase in the PKC level was suppressed by Ala in HK-2 cells. Notably, PKC overexpression reversed the moderating effects of Ala on the NaCl-induced apoptosis of HK-2 cells. These results show that Ala alleviates high-salt diet-induced hypertension and renal dysfunction. Ala attenuates the renal damage via inhibiting the PKC/reactive oxygen species (ROS) signaling pathway, thereby suppressing the apoptosis in renal tubular cells.