Basic Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2024. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Nephrol. Sep 25, 2024; 13(3): 95627
Published online Sep 25, 2024. doi: 10.5527/wjn.v13.i3.95627
Protective effect of long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids on hepatorenal syndrome in rats
João Bruno Beretta Duailibe, Cassiana Macagnan Viau, Jenifer Saffi, Sabrina Alves Fernandes, Marilene Porawski
João Bruno Beretta Duailibe, Sabrina Alves Fernandes, Department of Hepatology, Federal University of Health Sciences of Porto Alegre, Porto Alegre 90050-170, Brazil
Cassiana Macagnan Viau, Jenifer Saffi, Department of Basic Health Sciences, Federal University of Health Sciences of Porto Alegre, Porto Alegre 90050-170, Brazil
Marilene Porawski, Department of Hepatology and Basic Health Sciences, Federal University of Health Sciences of Porto Alegre, Porto Alegre 90050-170, Brazil
Author contributions: Porawski M and Saffi J designed and coordinated the study; Duailibe JBB, Viau CM, performed the experiments, acquired and analyzed data; Duailibe JBB, Viau CM, Fernandes SA and Porawski M analyzed the data and wrote the manuscript. All authors have read and approved the final manuscript.
Supported by Brazilian Agencies: Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico; Programa Nacional de Cooperação Acadêmica/Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior; and Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul.
Institutional animal care and use committee statement: All procedures involving animals were reviewed and approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee of the Federal University of Health Science (CEUA protocol number: 146/12).
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare no conflict of interest.
Data sharing statement: No additional data are available.
ARRIVE guidelines statement: The authors have read the ARRIVE guidelines, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the ARRIVE guidelines.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Marilene Porawski, PhD, Adjunct Professor, Department of Hepatology and Basic Health Sciences, Federal University of Health Sciences of Porto Alegre, 245/308C, Porto Alegre 90050-170, Brazil. marilenep@ufcspa.edu.br
Received: April 14, 2024
Revised: June 7, 2024
Accepted: July 25, 2024
Published online: September 25, 2024
Processing time: 157 Days and 16.7 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND

Hepatorenal syndrome (HRS) is the most prevalent form of acute kidney injury in cirrhotic patients. It is characterized by reduced renal blood flow and represents the most severe complication in cirrhotic patients with advanced disease. Previous research has indicated that antioxidants can delay the onset of a hyperdynamic circulatory state in cirrhosis and improve renal function in HRS patients. Regular omega-3 supplementation has significantly reduced the risk of liver disease. This supplementation could represent an additional therapy for individuals with HRS.

AIM

To evaluated the antioxidant effect of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid supplementation on the kidneys of cirrhotic rats.

METHODS

Secondary biliary cirrhosis was induced in rats by biliary duct ligation (BDL) for 28 d. We used 24 male Wistar rats divided into the following groups: I (control); II (treated with omega-3, 1 g/kg of body weight); III (BDL treated with omega-3, 1 g/kg of body weight); and IV (BDL without treatment). The animals were killed by overdose of anesthetic; the kidneys were dissected, removed, frozen in liquid nitrogen, and stored in a freezer at -80℃ for later analysis. We evaluated oxidative stress, nitric oxide (NO) metabolites, DNA damage by the comet assay, cell viability test, and apoptosis in the kidneys. Data were analyzed by one-way analysis of variance, and means were compared using the Tukey test, with P ≤ 0.05.

RESULTS

Omega-3 significantly decreased the production of reactive oxygen species (P < 0.001) and lipoperoxidation in the kidneys of cirrhotic rats treated with omega-3 (P < 0.001). The activity of the antioxidant enzymes superoxide dismutase and catalase increased in the BDL+omega-3 group compared to the BDL group (P < 0.01). NO production, DNA damage, and caspase-9 cleavage decreased significantly in the omega-3-treated BDL group. There was an increase in mitochondrial electrochemical potential (P < 0.001) in BDL treated with omega-3 compared to BDL. No changes in the cell survival index in HRS with omega-3 compared to the control group (P > 0.05) were observed.

CONCLUSION

The study demonstrates that omega-3 can protect cellular integrity and function by increasing antioxidant enzymes, inhibiting the formation of free radicals, and reducing apoptosis.

Keywords: Long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids; Antioxidant effect; Hepatorenal syndrome; Liver cirrhosis; Reactive oxygen species; Apoptosis

Core tip: Hepatorenal syndrome (HRS) is associated with poor prognosis in individuals with advanced or decompensated cirrhosis. Palliative care involves the use of vasoconstrictor agents and intravenous albumin in combination. Currently, there are no effective treatments for this condition other than liver transplantation. Our research has shown that administering 1 g/kg of omega-3 to cirrhotic rats reduced oxidative damage, DNA damage, and apoptosis while enhancing antioxidant defenses and maintaining the kidney’s cellular integrity. These findings indicate that omega-3 supplementation could be complementary to managing HRS.