Atorvastatin Protects Kidney from Remote Reperfusion Injury

Background: There is a need to find an effective treatment against reperfusion injury. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the capacity of the ischemic postconditioning and statin to prevent renal reperfusion injury. Design and Setting: An experimental study developed at Universidade Anhanguera-Uniderp. Methods: A total of 41 Wistar rats were distributed into 5 groups: ischemia and reperfusion (I/R), ischemic postconditioning (IPC), postconditioning + statin (IPC + S), statin (S), and sham. In the sham group, the infrarenal abdominal aorta was dissected and isolated; all others were submitted to aortic clamping for 70 min (ischemia) and posterior removal of the clamp (reperfusion, 70 min). In the IPC and IPC + S groups, postconditioning was performed in ischemia and reperfusion phases by 4 cycles of reperfusion and ischemia lasting 30 sec each. In the IPC + S and S groups, preceding the surgical procedure, atorvastatin was administered 3.4 mg/day for 7 days by gavage. After the procedure, the left kidney was removed for histological study. Results: The mean renal lesion was 4 in the I/R group, 2.44 in the IPC group, 1.22 in the IPC + S group, 1.11 in the S group, and 1 in the sham group. The I/R group had a higher degree of tissue injury when compared to the others (P < 0.001) and the IPC + S and S groups improved protection against IPC alone (P < 0.05). Conclusions: Ischemic postconditioning and atorvastatin can minimize renal remote reperfusion injury.