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Updated: Mar 16, 2026

Assessment of Mitochondrial Functions and Cell Viability in Renal Cells Overexpressing Protein Kinase C Isozymes
Published on: January 7, 2013
Melamine and cyanuric acid co-exposure causes renal dysfunction and structural damage via MAPKs and mitochondrial
In-Chul Lee1, Je-Won Ko2, Sung-Hyeuk Park2
1College of Veterinary Medicine BK21 Plus Team, Chonnam National University, Gwangju 500-757, Republic of Korea; Natural Product Research Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Jeongeup 56212, Republic of Korea.
Abstract:
Both melamine and cyanuric acid have low toxicity, but combined exposure to melamine and cyanuric acid (M + CA) was reported to cause unexpected toxicological synergy on kidney damage. In this study, we investigated the role of oxidative stress and apoptotic changes in the nephrotoxicity caused by M + CA in rats. M + CA treatment caused an increase in the kidney weight, serum blood urea nitrogen or creatinine levels in a dose-dependent manner. With severe morphological and histological changes in kidneys, M + CA markedly elevated lipid peroxidation and suppressed antioxidant enzyme activities. M + CA treatment induced apoptotic changes in renal tubular cells. Additionally, exposure to M + CA increased phosphorylation of mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) coincided with increased Bax level and decreased Bcl2 level, resulting in caspase-3 activation. In summary, oxidative stress and simultaneous MAPKs and mitochondrial/caspase activation may be related to renal tubular cell apoptosis caused by M + CA.
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