Renoprotective potentials of small molecule natural products targeting mitochondrial dysfunction

Md Ataur Rahman; Sumaya Akter; Debra Dorotea; Arpita Mazumder; Md Naim Uddin; Md Abdul Hannan; Muhammad Jahangir Hossen; Md Selim Ahmed; Woojin Kim; Bonglee Kim; Md Jamal Uddin

doi:10.3389/fphar.2022.925993

Renoprotective potentials of small molecule natural products targeting mitochondrial dysfunction

Front Pharmacol. 2022 Jul 15:13:925993. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2022.925993. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Md Ataur Rahman^{1

2

3}, Sumaya Akter¹, Debra Dorotea⁴, Arpita Mazumder¹, Md Naim Uddin¹, Md Abdul Hannan^{1

5}, Muhammad Jahangir Hossen⁶, Md Selim Ahmed⁷, Woojin Kim^{3

8}, Bonglee Kim^{2

3}, Md Jamal Uddin^{1

4}

Affiliations

¹ ABEx Bio-Research Center, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
² Department of Pathology, College of Korean Medicine, Kyung Hee University, Hoegidong Dongdaemungu, Seoul, South Korea.
³ Korean Medicine-Based Drug Repositioning Cancer Research Center, College of Korean Medicine, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, South Korea.
⁴ Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, Ewha Womans University, Seoul, South Korea.
⁵ Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh, Bangladesh.
⁶ Department of Animal Science, Patuakhali Science and Technology University, Dumki, Patuakhali, Bangladesh.
⁷ Department of Medicine, Surgery and Obstetrics, Faculty of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine, Patuakhali Science and Technology University, Barisal, Bangladesh.
⁸ Department of Physiology, College of Korean Medicine, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, South Korea.

Abstract

Kidney diseases, including acute kidney injury (AKI) and chronic kidney disease (CKD), have become critical clinical, socioeconomic, and public health concerns worldwide. The kidney requires a lot of energy, and mitochondria act as the central organelle for the proper functioning of the kidney. Mitochondrial dysfunction has been associated with the pathogenesis of AKI and CKD. Natural products and their structural analogs have been sought as an alternative therapeutic strategy despite the challenges in drug discovery. Many studies have shown that small-molecule natural products can improve renal function and ameliorate kidney disease progression. This review summarizes the nephroprotective effects of small-molecule natural products, such as berberine, betulinic acid, celastrol, curcumin, salidroside, polydatin, and resveratrol. Treatment with small-molecule natural products was shown to attenuate renal oxidative stress and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) damage and restore mitochondrial biogenesis and dynamics in the kidneys against various injury stimuli. Therefore, small-molecule natural products should be recognized as multi-target therapeutics and promising drugs to prevent kidney diseases, particularly those with mitochondrial dysfunction.

Keywords: kidney diseases; mitochondrial dysfunction; renoprotective effect; small molecule natural products; traditional medicine.

Publication types

Review