Objectives: To investigate the potential protective effects of captopril, the angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor, in diabetic rats exposed to ischaemia/reperfusion (I/R) renal injury.
Methods: Following successful induction of diabetes, captopril treatment (50 mg/kg/day, p.o.) was applied for 4 weeks, after which bilateral renal ischaemia was induced for 30 min followed by reperfusion for 24 h.
Results: Captopril significantly attenuated hyperglycaemia and hypoinsulinaemia in diabetic rats, and significantly reduced the elevations of serum creatinine and aldosterone levels, and renal malondialdehyde, tumour necrosis factor-α and nitric oxide (NO), and prevented the depletion of reduced glutathione caused by I/R in diabetic rats. Histopathological renal tissue damage induced by I/R in diabetic rats was ameliorated by captopril treatment. Immunohistochemical analysis revealed that captopril significantly attenuated the reduction of insulin content in pancreatic islet β-cells, and decreased the I/R-induced expression of inducible NO synthase, nuclear factor-κB, Fas ligand and caspase-3, and increased the expression of survivin and heme oxygenase-1 in the kidney tissue of diabetic rats.
Conclusions: Captopril represents a potential candidate to reduce the risk of renal injury induced by ischaemia/reperfusion in type 2 diabetes.
© 2012 The Authors. JPP © 2012. Royal Pharmaceutical Society.