Role of AKR1C3 in renal injury and glibenclamide is anti-inflammatory in preeclamptic rats

Abstract

Proteinuria is a common adverse effect of renal injury in preeclampsia. To explore the effects of AKR1C3 in renal injury due to preeclampsia and to determine an optimal method to prevent proteinuria, glibenclamide treatment was used in unrestrained Wistar rats exposed to N-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester hydrochloride (L-NAME). Successful rat models for preeclampsia were confirmed based on mean arterial pressure, a 24-h protein urine test, and by observing the structure of the kidney by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Forty Wistar rats were randomly divided into L-NAME-induced preeclampsia (pregnant and L-NAME), treatment (pregnant, L-NAME, and glybenclamide), non-pregnant (L-NAME), and control (pregnant and 0.9% saline) groups. Rats that were 19 days into their pregnancies were then euthanized and their kidneys were collected. After exposure to L-NAME, the mean arterial pressure increased by ~25 mmHg, which was largely prevented by the co-administration of glibenclamide. At 24 h, protein levels in the urine of the L-NAME-induced preeclampsia group were higher than those of the control and treatment groups. AKR1C3 was downregulated in the kidney and podocytes, whereas glibenclamide increased the expression of AKR1C3. The generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) detected by ELISA was decreased by the glibenclamide co-administration. Compared with that in the L-NAME-induced preeclampsia group, the expression levels of AKR1C3 protein and mRNA significantly increased in the treatment group ([0.48 ± 0.09] vs.[1.05 ± 0.20];[0.05 ± 0.02] vs.[0.22 ± 0.06]; both P < 0.05]). Therefore, AKR1C3 expression was decreased in the kidneys of L-NAME-induced preeclampsia rats, and glibenclamide may be useful for the treatment of preeclampsia by regulating the generation of ROS and preventing proteinuria.