Effect of N-acetylcysteine on speksin immunoreactivity in kidney tissues of rats treated with adriamycin

Adriamycin (ADR) is an anthracycline type chemotherapeutic (antineoplastic or cytostatic) agent used in the treatment of various types of cancer. Many antineoplastic drugs produced to destroy cancer cells also have a direct effect on healthy cells. These effects reveal the toxic effects of antineoplastic drugs. N-acetyl cysteine (NAC); is a mucolytic agent and plays a role in the formation of glutathione, an effective antioxidant. It is known that antioxidants are effective in preventing cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, various types of cancer, and various diseases associated with oxidative stress. Spexin (SPX), recently identified hormone, has a regulatory role in body, energy metabolism and homeostasis. This study was aimed to investigate the effect of NAC administration on SPX immunoreactivity in rat kidney tissues. For this purpose, 28 Spraque-Dawley male rats (8-10 weeks old) were randomly distributed in equal numbers and divided into 4 groups (n=7). While no administration was made to the control group for 14 days, NAC was administered intraperitoneally (i.p) at a dose of 150 mg/kg/day to the NAC and ADR+NAC groups for 14 days. A single dose of 15mg/kg ADR was administered i.p to the ADR and ADR+NAC groups at the beginning of the experiment. At the end of the experiment, rats were decapitated and blood samples and kidney tissues were taken for biochemical analysis and histological evaluations. Total oxidant levels (TOS), total antioxidant levels (TAS), and serum SPX levels were determined by Enzyme-Linked Immuno Sorbent Assay (ELISA) method. Immunohistochemical staining was used for detection of SPX immunoreactivity in kidney tissue and TUNEL staining was applied to detect apoptotic cells. In addition, kidney tissues of all rats were evaluated histologically by routine hematoxylin and eosin staining. Various histopathological changes in kidney tissues such as edema, hyaline cast formation, tubular dilatation, fibrosis, tubular vacuolization, and erythrocyte extravasation, increase in serum/tissue TOS and SPX levels, and decrease in serum/tissue TAS levels was detected in ADR group compared to the control group. A statistically significant improvement was observed in all of these findings after NAC treatment in ADR+NAC group. As a result, it has been determined that adriamycin administration increases TOS, apoptosis, and SPX levels, NAC was given as treatment to decrease TOS, apoptosis, and SPX levels, and SPX may have a role in the pathogenesis of ADR-related kidney damage, with further and detailed studies in the future. We believe that if the pathophysiological mechanisms associated with kidney damage can be clarified, new treatment approaches related to SPX can be tried to prevent and/or treat the formation of kidney damage.