Atrial natriuretic peptide protects against cisplatin-induced acute kidney injury

Cisplatin is an effective chemotherapeutic agent used in the treatment of a wide variety of malignancies. Acute kidney injury (AKI) is the major toxicity associated with cisplatin and sometimes necessitates a reduction in dose or discontinuation of treatment. Atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) is secreted by the heart and exerts a wide range of renoprotective effects, including anti-inflammatory activity. The objective of this study was to investigate the protective effects of ANP on cisplatin-induced AKI in mice.

Mice were randomly divided into three groups: control, cisplatin (20 mg/kg, intraperitoneal)/vehicle treatment, and cisplatin/ANP (1.5 μg/kg/min via osmotic-pump, subcutaneous) treatment. At 72 h after cisplatin injection, serum blood urea nitrogen and creatinine, urine albumin/creatinine, and renal expression of mRNAs encoding tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, intercellular adhesion molecule-1, monocyte chemoattractant protein-1, and transforming growth factor (TGF)-β were measured using real-time polymerase chain reaction. Histological changes were also evaluated.

ANP treatment significantly attenuated cisplatin-induced increases in serum blood urea nitrogen and creatinine, urine albumin/creatinine, and renal expression of IL-1β, IL-6, intercellular adhesion molecule-1, and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 mRNAs. Cisplatin-induced renal dysfunction and renal tubular necrosis were thus attenuated by ANP treatment.

Our results indicate that ANP exhibits a protective effect against cisplatin-induced AKI in mice. ANP may thus be of value in prophylactic strategies aimed at mitigating the adverse effects associated with chemotherapy agents, including cisplatin.