Publications in the Year: 2014

Journal Article

Arab HH, Al-Shorbagy MY, Abdallah DM, Nassar NN.  2014.  Telmisartan attenuates colon inflammation, oxidative perturbations and apoptosis in a rat model of experimental inflammatory bowel disease.. PloS one. 9(5):e97193. Abstract

Accumulating evidence has indicated the implication of angiotensin II in the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) via its proinflammatory features. Telmisartan (TLM) is an angiotensin II receptor antagonist with marked anti-inflammatory and antioxidant actions that mediated its cardio-, reno- and hepatoprotective actions. However, its impact on IBD has not been previously explored. Thus, we aimed to investigate the potential alleviating effects of TLM in tri-nitrobenezene sulphonic acid (TNBS)-induced colitis in rats. Pretreatment with TLM (10 mg/kg p.o.) attenuated the severity of colitis as evidenced by decrease of disease activity index (DAI), colon weight/length ratio, macroscopic damage, histopathological findings and leukocyte migration. TLM suppressed the inflammatory response via attenuation of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) and myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity as a marker of neutrophil infiltration besides restoration of interleukin-10 (IL-10). TLM also suppressed mRNA and protein expression of nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) p65 and mRNA of cyclo-oxygenase-2 (COX-2) and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) proinflammatory genes with concomitant upregulation of PPAR-γ. The alleviation of TLM to colon injury was also associated with inhibition of oxidative stress as evidenced by suppression of lipid peroxides and nitric oxide (NO) besides boosting glutathione (GSH), total anti-oxidant capacity (TAC) and the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx). With respect to apoptosis, TLM downregulated the increased mRNA, protein expression and activity of caspase-3. It also suppressed the elevation of cytochrome c and Bax mRNA besides the upregulation of Bcl-2. Together, these findings highlight evidences for the beneficial effects of TLM in IBD which are mediated through modulation of colonic inflammation, oxidative stress and apoptosis.

Ragab D, Abdallah DM, El-Abhar HS.  2014.  Cilostazol renoprotective effect: modulation of PPAR-γ, NGAL, KIM-1 and IL-18 underlies its novel effect in a model of ischemia-reperfusion.. PloS one. 9(5):e95313. Abstract

Cilostazol, a phosphodiesterase-III inhibitor, reportedly exhibits positive effects against ischemia/reperfusion (I/R)-induced injury in several models. However, its potential role against the renal I/R insult has not been elucidated. To test whether the PPAR-γ (of peroxisome proliferator activated receptor gamma) pathway is involved in the cilostazol effect, rats were randomized into sham, I/R, cilostazol (50 and 100 mg/kg per day, orally), pioglitazone (3 and 10 mg/kg per day, orally) and their combination at the low dose levels. Drugs regimens were administered for 14 days prior to the I/R induction. Pretreatment with cilostazol or pioglitazone provided significant protection against the I/R-induced renal injury as manifested by the attenuated serum levels of creatinine, blood urea nitrogen and cystatin C. Both drugs have also opposed the I/R-induced elevation in tissue contents/activity of neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL), kidney injury molecule-1 (Κim-1), nuclear factor-κB, interleuκin-18, caspase-1, as well as malondialdehyde, iNOS, myeloperoxidase, ICAM-1 and VCAM-1. Nevertheless, the drugs increased both the PPAR-γ transcriptional activity and the content of glutathione. Furthermore, combining the two low doses of both drugs produced effects comparable to that of the high dose level of either drug, advocating the fortification of pioglitazone renoprotective effect when given concomitantly with cilostazol. In conclusion, cilostazol purveyed conceivable novel renoprotective mechanisms and alleviated incidents associated with acute renal injury either alone or in combination with pioglitazone partially via the elevation of PPAR-γ besides the amendment of the aforementioned biomarkers.

El-Garhy AM, Abd El-Raouf OM, El-Sayeh BM, Fawzy HM, Abdallah DM.  2014.  Ellagic acid antiinflammatory and antiapoptotic potential mediate renoprotection in cisplatin nephrotoxic rats.. Journal of biochemical and molecular toxicology. 28(10):472-9. Abstract

Ellagic acid (EA) renoprotective effect against cisplatin (CIS)-induced nephrotoxicity remains elusive. Therefore, male Sprague-Dawley rats received CIS alone or EA (10 and 30 mg/kg, p.o.) for 5 days before and after CIS injection. CIS increased serum levels of blood urea nitrogen, creatinine, γ-glutamyl transferase, and reduced those of albumin and total protein. It also raised serum endothelin-1, as well as serum and renal nitric oxide, tumor necrosis factor-α, and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1. CIS enhanced the renal caspase-3, hemeoxygenase (HO)-1, nuclear factor-κB, and inducible nitric oxide. EA hampered CIS-induced nephrotoxicity manifested by an enhancement of the glomerular filtration rate which was associated by the reduction of inflammatory mediators and the apoptotic marker in the serum and/or kidney. The present study discloses that EA suppresses HO-1 and, its renoprotection is also linked to its anti-inflammatory and antiapoptotic properties, as well as the reduction of nitric oxide and endothelin-1.