Amifostine Attenuates Doxorubicin-Induced Subacute Hepatic and Renal Toxicity in Rats

This study aimed to evaluate the general, hepatoprotective and renoprotective effects of amifostine (AMI) in rats treated with a large, single dose of doxorubicin (DOX), assessed at 7 and 56 days after administration. Rats were divided into six experimental groups: Control (0.9% NaCl intraperitoneally (ip)), amifostine (AMI300, 300 mg/kg (ip)), doxorubicin (DOX6, 6 mg/kg (ip)), doxorubicin (DOX10, 10 mg/kg (ip)), doxorubicin (DOX6, 6 mg/kg (ip)) + amifostine (AMI300, 300 mg/kg (ip) 30 min before DOX6), and doxorubicin (DOX10, 10 mg/kg (ip)) + amifostine (AMI300, 300 mg/kg (ip) 30 min before DOX10). Absolute liver and kidney weights were significantly increased in AMI300 + DOX6-treated animals compared to DOX6 only on day 56. In the group of DOX10-treated rats, AMI300 significantly prevented changes in the number of white blood cells during the four weeks after treatment. The severity of hepatic and renal injuries in the DOX6-treated groups was also significantly less in rats pretreated with AMI300 on day 56 (p < 0.01). Our results indicate that hepatic and renal protection significantly contribute to the successful use of AMI against DOX-induced subacute toxicity in rats.