Effect of Preconditioning With Triiodothyronine on Renal Ischemia/Reperfusion Injury and Poly(ADP-Ribose) Polymerase Expression in Rats

The ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) model in rats allows pharmacological investigation of protective renal effects of certain agents to thereby diminish the incidence of delayed graft function (DGF). The aim of this study was to determine the effects of preconditioning with triiodothyronine (T-3) on renal function and oxidative status in renal I/R injury. Forty male Wistar rats were preconditioned with T-3 (100 mu g/kg) or control (normal saline) at 24 hours prior to 45 minutes of renal ischemia, followed by a 4-hour (groups C-4h and T-3-4h) or 24-hour (groups C-24h and T-3-24h) reperfusion period. We determined renal function parameters (urea, creatinine, and proteinuria), oxidative stress biomarkers in plasma (malondialdehyde [MDA], glutathione [GSH], and superoxide dismutase [SOD]), urine (hydrogen peroxide [H2O2]), and renal tissue (GSH and MDA), and poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP-1) expression. Proteinuria was significantly lower in the T-3-treated group (4.63 +/- 1.9 vs 9.27 +/- 0.72 mg/mL/100 g body weight). Pretreated rats showed lower levels of plasma and tissue MDA and urine H2O2 (50.57 +/- 1.17 vs 71.16 +/- 1.14 mu mol/100 g body weight). The T-3 treatment was associated with lower postischemia GSH concentrations (3.82 +/- 1.16 vs 4.89 +/- 0.68 nmol/mg protein) and higher SOD levels at 24 hours (11.27 +/- 0.86 vs 9.92 +/- 1.77 nmol/mg protein). Preconditioning with the hormone also reduced PARP-1 tissue expression by 18% (P <= .05). These findings suggested that preconditioning with T-3 reduced proteinuria, improved lipid peroxidation biomarkers, and increased antioxidant enzyme levels in renal I/R injury.