Histological changes and histamine release induced by dactimicin in isolated perfused rat kidney

The nephrotoxicity of aminoglycosides has been the object of numerous works of research showing that different molecules belonging to the same family of antibiotics can exert their toxic action in different ways. The aim of the present research was to evaluate the nephrotoxicity of dactimicin (DTC), a recently synthesized aminoglycoside antibiotic, as compared to gentamicin (GTM), amikacin (AMK) and fortimicin (FTM). The experimental model used was the isolated perfused rat kidney, and the parameters evaluated were histamine release and histological findings. The results showed that GTM was able to induce a significantly higher release of histamine than AMK, FTM, or DTC. AMK provoked a higher level of histamine release than FTM or DTC, although the differences between the three were not significant. Histological preparations obtained with GTM revealed large-scale lesions, which however were less detectable with AMK, and much less with DTC.