L-carnitine effects in CCl4-nephrotoxicity: Immunohistochemical evaluation of glomerular nephrin and HIF-1alpha expressions

Abstract

Purpose: In this study, we aimed to demonstrate the effects of L-carnitine after carbontetrachloride (CCl4) toxicity through nephrin and Hypoxia inducible factor-1 alpha (HIF-1α) expressions in the glomerular structure.Materials and Methods: Forty male Sprague dawley rats were divided into 5 groups with animals in each group. Group I: Control group; 0.2 ml olive oil intraperitoneal (ip) twice weekly, Group II: L-carnitine group; 200 mg/kg L-carnitine (ip) twice a week, Group III: CCl4 group; 0.2 ml CCl4 (ip) twice a week for 6 weeks, Group IV: L-carnitine + CCl4 group, 200 mg/kg ip L-carnitine 24 hours before CCl4 twice a week, Group V: CCl4 + L-carnitine group; 200 mg/kg L-carnitine half an hour after CCl4 twice a week. Immunohistochemical staining was performed on kidney tissue sections to show nephrin and HIF-1α expression. Expression densities of the proteins were measured by ImageJ program.Results: Nephrin expression was significantly increased in Group III compared to other groups. There was a significant increase in HIF-1α expression only between Group I and Group III. Expression densities of proteins in L-carnitine-treated groups were similar to control.Conclusion: L-carnitine has both protective and therapeutic effects against CCl4 toxicity in renal glomeruli.