Renal function and oxidative stress following gentamicin induced renal injury in rats treated with erythropoietin, iron and vitamin E

The effects of erythropoietin(Epo), iron, and vitamin E on renal function and oxidative stress in rats with renal injury induced by gentamicin were investigated. Rats were divided into 5 groups; group 1, control; group 2, gentamicin group(100 mg/kg gentamicin sc. on days 5-12); group 3, gentamicin plus Epo (in addition to gentamicin, 100 i.u./kg Epo was administered s.c. on days 5-12); group 4, gentamicin plus Epo and iron (in addition to gentamicin and Epo, 500 mg/kg iron was administered i.p. on days 4) and group 5, gentamicin plus Epo, iron, and vitamin E (in addition to genta, Epo and iron, 250 i.u./kg, vitamin E was added orally on days 1-3) Renal functions and oxidative stress were investigated on days 12. The results show that glomerular filtration rate (GFR) and effective renal plasma flow (ERPF) decreased in group 2. The urinary excretion of Na+, K+, protein and NAG increased in groups 2 to 5. GFR and ERPF were aggravated in group 3 with increased catalase (CAT) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activities. Renal function and oxidative stress were unchanged in group 4 but higher ERPF with decreased BUN were found in group 5. It is concluded that gentamicin caused severe damage of both glomerular and tubular parts with alteration of oxidative stress. Epo and iron did not alter renal function but vitamin E supplementation could improve blood flow to the kidney.