Nephroprotective Effects of L-Arginine against Chemotherapy Induced Acute Kidney Injury in Wistar Rats

Objective To evaluate the protective role of L-Arginine in cisplatin induced acute renal injury through assessment of renal, oxidative stress and inflammatory markers in albino wistar rats. Methods: Quasi-experimental study was conducted at the department of physiology and postgraduate research laboratory at Isra University, Hyderabad, Sindh from April 2019 to September 2019. Thirty male Albino wistar rats were selected through non-random purposive sampling and divided equally into three different groups: Group-A (Control group), Group-B (experimental group) received Cisplatin alone and Group-C (experimental group) received Cisplatin along with arginine. After sacrificing the animals, blood samples were collected through cardiac puncture while renal histopathological analysis was under the light microscope. The changes in severity were observed using a graded scale. Data was analysed using SPSS v23.0. Results: There was a statistically significant (p-value <0.05) decline in the bodyweight and rise in absolute kidney weight of group B in comparison with other two group. Moreover, significant rise (p-value <0.05) in serum renal markers was observed in group B while significant decline (p-value <0.05)  in these serum renal markers in group C compared with group B.  Furthermore, prominent demage in normal renal histology in group B rats while restoration of renal histology was demonstrated in group C rats. Conclusion: The present study concludes that L-Arginine exerts an anti-oxidative, anti-inflammatory and nephro-protective effect for renal tissue damage caused by Cisplatin. Keywords: Acute Kidney Injury, Antioxidant, Cisplatin, L-Arginine, Oxidative stress