Long-term aerobic exercise protects against cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity by modulating the expression of IL-6 and HO-1

PLoS One. 2014 Oct 1;9(10):e108543. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0108543. eCollection 2014.

Abstract

Nephrotoxicity is substantial side effect for 30% of patients undergoing cancer therapy with cisplatin and may force them to change or even abandon the treatment. Studies regarding aerobic exercise have shown its efficacy for the treatment of many types of diseases and its capacity to reduce tumors. However, little is known about the impact of physical exercise on cisplatin-induced acute kidney injury (AKI). In the present study, our aim was to investigate the role of physical exercise in AKI induced by cisplatin. We submitted C57Bl6 male mice to seven weeks of chronic exercise on a training treadmill and treated them with single i.p. injection of cisplatin (20 mg/kg) in the last week. Exercise efficacy was confirmed by an increased capillary-to-fiber ratio in the gastrocnemius muscle of exercised groups (EX and CIS-EX). The group submitted to exercise before cisplatin administration (CIS-EX) exhibited less weight loss and decreased serum urea levels compared to the cisplatin group (CIS). Exercise also showed a protective role against cisplatin-induced cell death in the kidney. The CIS-EX group showed a lower inflammatory response, with less TNF and IL-10 expression in the kidney and serum. In the same group, we observed an increase of IL-6 and HO-1 expression in the kidney. Taken together, our results indicate that chronic aerobic exercise is able to attenuate AKI by inducing IL-6 and HO-1 production, which results in lower inflammatory and apoptotic profiles in the kidney.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Acute Kidney Injury / chemically induced*
  • Acute Kidney Injury / genetics*
  • Acute Kidney Injury / pathology
  • Acute Kidney Injury / physiopathology
  • Acute Kidney Injury / prevention & control
  • Animals
  • Apoptosis / drug effects
  • Cachexia / etiology
  • Cachexia / prevention & control
  • Cisplatin / administration & dosage
  • Cisplatin / adverse effects*
  • Cisplatin / pharmacology
  • Disease Models, Animal
  • Gene Expression Regulation*
  • Heme Oxygenase-1 / genetics
  • Heme Oxygenase-1 / metabolism
  • Inflammation / genetics
  • Inflammation / metabolism
  • Interleukin-6 / genetics*
  • Interleukin-6 / metabolism
  • Male
  • Mice
  • Physical Conditioning, Animal*
  • Tumor Necrosis Factors / genetics
  • Tumor Necrosis Factors / metabolism

Substances

  • Interleukin-6
  • Tumor Necrosis Factors
  • Heme Oxygenase-1
  • Cisplatin

Grants and funding

This work was supported by Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP: 11/10349-5, 12/02270-2, 12/10435-1, 12/50079-0) and Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq, INCT Complex Fluids and Renal Immunopathology Laboratory INSERM/CNPq). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.