The Preventive Effects of Diminazene Aceturate in Renal Ischemia/Reperfusion Injury in Male and Female Rats

Background. Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2/angiotensin (1-7)/Mas receptor (ACE2/Ang-1-7/MasR) appears to counteract most of the deleterious actions of angiotensin-converting enzyme/angiotensin II/angiotensin II receptor 1 (ACE/Ang II/AT1R) in renal ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury but ACE2 activity and its levels are sexually dimorphic in the kidney. This study was designed to evaluate the effects of activation endogenous ACE2 using the diminazene aceturate (DIZE) in renal I/R injury in male and female rats. Methods. 36 Wistar rats were divided into two groups of male and female and each group distinct to three subgroups (n = 6). I/R group was subjected to 45 min of bilateral ischemia and 24 h of reperfusion, while treatment group received DIZE (15 mg/kg/day) for three days before the induction of I/R. The other group was assigned as the sham-operated group. Results. DIZE treatment in male rats caused a significant decrease in blood urea nitrogen (BUN), creatinine, liver functional indices, serum malondialdehyde (MDA), and increase kidney nitrite levels (P < 0.05), and in female rats a significant increase in creatinine and decrease serum nitrite levels compared to the I/R group (P < 0.05). Conclusions. DIZE may protect the male kidney from renal I/RI through antioxidant activity and elevation of circulating nitrite level.