Luteolin protects against lead acetate-induced nephrotoxicity through antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-apoptotic, and Nrf2/HO-1 signaling pathways

• Published in: Molecular biology reports Vol. 47; no. 4; pp. 2591 - 2603
• Main Authors: Albarakati, Alaa Jameel A., Baty, Roua S., Aljoudi, Ahmad M., Habotta, Ola A., Elmahallawy, Ehab K., Kassab, Rami B., Abdel Moneim, Ahmed E.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht Springer Netherlands 01.04.2020; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Animal Anatomy; Animal Biochemistry; Animals; Anti-Inflammatory Agents - pharmacology; Antioxidants; Antioxidants - metabolism; Apoptosis; Apoptosis - drug effects; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Creatinine; Enzymatic activity; Flavonoids; Gene expression; Heavy metals; Histology; IL-1β; Inflammation; Inflammation - metabolism; Intoxication; Kidney - drug effects; Kidney - metabolism; Kidneys; Lead; Life Sciences; Luteolin - metabolism; Luteolin - pharmacology; Male; Morphology; Organometallic Compounds - metabolism; Organometallic Compounds - toxicity; Original Article; Oxidative stress; Oxidative Stress - drug effects; Pollutants; Protective Agents - pharmacology; Rats; Rats, Wistar; Renal function; Renal Insufficiency - drug therapy; Rodents; Signal transduction; Signal Transduction - drug effects; Structure-function relationships; Tumor necrosis factor-α; Urea; Oxidative stress; Inflammation; Lead acetate; Luteolin; Kidney; Apoptosis
• ISSN: 0301-4851; 1573-4978
• DOI: 10.1007/s11033-020-05346-1

Lead (Pb) is one of the most common heavy metal pollutants affecting living organisms. It induces nephrotoxicity with significant alterations in renal structure and function. Luteolin (LUT) a flavonoid present in various plant products is well known for exhibiting numerous pharmacological properties. We evaluated the protective efficacy of LUT against Pb-induced renal injury in male Wistar rats. Four experimental groups: control, LUT (50 mg/kg, orally), PbAc (20 mg/kg, i.p.), LUT + PbAc (at the aforementioned doses) were maintained for 7 days. PbAc administration significantly increased renal Pb accumulation, urea, and creatinine levels in serum, and induced renal histological alterations. Additionally, compared to the control rats, PbAc-treated rats exhibited significantly low levels of antioxidant enzyme activity and expression (SOD, CAT, GPx and GR), as well as high MDA levels. Moreover, PbAc exposure downregulated Nfe212 and Homx1 mRNA expression and significantly increased inflammatory marker (TNF-α, IL-1β and NO) levels in renal tissue. PbAc significantly upregulated the synthesis of apoptotic related proteins and downregulated antiapoptotic protein expression. Notably, LUT pretreatment of PbAc-treated rats provided significant nephroprotection and reversed the alterations in the abovementioned parameters. In conclusion, LUT provided significant protection against PbAc intoxication via antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-apoptotic activities by activating the Nrf2/ARE signaling pathway.