Hyperuricemia characterized by high serum levels of uric acid (UA, >6.8 mg/dL) is regarded as a common chronic metabolic disease. When used as a food supplement, naringenin might have various pharmacological activities, including antioxidant, free-radical-scavenging, and inflammation-suppressing activities. However, the effects of naringenin on hyperuricemia and renal inflammation and the underlying mechanisms remain to be elucidated. Here, we comprehensively examined the effects of naringenin on hyperuricemia and the attenuation of renal impairment. Mice were injected with 250 mg/kg of potassium oxonate (PO) and given 5% fructose water to induce hyperuricemia. The pharmacological effects of naringenin (10 and 50 mg/kg) and benzbromarone (positive control group, 20 mg/kg) on hyperuricemic mice were evaluated in vivo. The disordered expression of urate transporters in HK-2 cells was stimulated by 8 mg/dL UA, which was used to determine the mechanisms underlying the effects of naringenin in vitro. Naringenin markedly reduced the serum UA level in a dose-dependent manner and improved renal dysfunction. Moreover, the increased elimination of UA in urine showed that the effects of naringenin were associated with the regulation of renal excretion. Further examination indicated that naringenin reduced the expression of GLUT9 by inhibiting the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway and reinforced the expression of ABCG2 by increasing the abundance of PDZK1 in vivo and in vitro. Furthermore, sirius red staining and western blotting indicated that naringenin plays a protective role in renal injury by suppressing increases in the levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines, including IL-6 and TNF-α, which contribute to the inhibition of the TLR4/NF-κB signaling pathway in vivo and in vitro. Naringenin supplementation might be a potential therapeutic strategy to ameliorate hyperuricemia by promoting UA excretion in the kidney and attenuating the inflammatory response by decreasing the release of inflammatory cytokines. This study shows that naringenin could be used as a functional food or dietary supplement for hyperuricemia prevention and treatment.
Keywords: hyperuricemia; naringenin; renal inflammation; urate transporter; uric acid excretion.