N-Acetylcysteine Amide (NACA) Reduces Cell Death after Oxidative Stress in a Porcine Embryonic Kidney Cell Line

Abstract

Introduction: Oxidative stress may have detrimental effects on different structures of the cells, such as the DNA. Recently, we have published a study demonstrating that N-Acetylcysteine amide (NACA) displayed anti-inflammatory properties on the brain after exposure to oxidative stress in an established neonatal piglet model, imitating perinatal asphyxia. As different clinical studies have shown an association between the severity of hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy and damage of the kidneys, we investigated a possible protective effect of NACA against H2O2-induced oxidative stress using a porcine epithelial-like embryonic kidney cell line (EFN-R). Objective: To investigate a potential protective effect of NACA on cells of a porcine embryonic kidney cell line exposed to H2O2. Methods: We subjected the cells to different concentrations of H2O2 for variable time periods, seeking the optimal dose-response for the experiments. Based on the results of these investigations, we exposed the cells to 100 μMol of H2O2 and/or 750 μM of NACA for 24 hours. Some of the cells would receive NACA either one hour before or one hour after exposure to H2O2. Results: The viability of the investigated EFN-R cells revealed that both, the group treated with NACA before exposure to H2O2 and the group treated with NACA after exposure to H2O2, exhibited significantly higher cell viability compared to the H2O2 group (p < 0.001 and p < 0.01, respectively). Discussion: The increased viability of the cells may indicate that NACA could play an important role in reducing oxidative stress. Taking the results from our previous study into consideration, our findings may strengthen the theory that NACA may have organ protective properties for neonates exposed to oxidative stress.