Tempol, a superoxide dismutase-mimetic drug, has been shown to attenuate radical-induced damage, exerting beneficial effects in the animal models of oxidative stress and hypertension. This study evaluated the effect of Tempol on renal structural and functional alterations in two-Kidney, one-Clip hypertensive rats. In this study, young male Wistar rats had the left kidney clipped (2K1C), and sham-operated animals (Sham) were used as controls. Animals received Tempol (1mmol/L in drinking water) or vehicle for 5 weeks. Systolic blood pressure was evaluated once a week. At the end of the experimental protocol, the animals were placed in metabolic cages to collect urine (24h) and then anesthetized with thiopental (70mg/kg i.p.) to collect blood by puncturing the descending aorta for biochemical analysis, and the clipped kidney for morphological and immunohistochemical analyses. The vasodilator effect of Tempol was evaluated in mesenteric arterial bed (MAB) isolated from adult Wistar rats. The chronic treatment with Tempol prevented the development of hypertension and the increased plasma levels of urea, creatinine, and 8-isoprostane in 2K1C animals. Tempol also improved both glomeruli number and kidney volume to normal levels in the 2K1C+Tempol group. In addition, the treatment prevented the increased collagen deposition and immunostaining for renin, caspase-3, and 8-isoprostane in the stenotic kidney of 2K1C animals. Moreover, Tempol induced a dose-dependent vasodilator response in MAB from Wistar rats. These results suggest that Tempol protects the stenotic kidney against chronic ischemic renal injury and prevents renal dysfunction in the 2K1C model, probably through its antioxidant, vasodilator and antihypertensive actions.
Keywords: Antioxidant; renal injury; renovascular hypertension; tempol; two-kidney one-clip hypertension.