Effect of infliximab against cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity

OBJECTIVES: To investigate whether infliximab (Ib), an inhibitor of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), prevents cisplatin (Cis)-induced nephrotoxicity. METHODS: The study was performed in the Department of Internal Medicine, Recep Tayyip Erdogan University, Rize, Turkey, between November 2012 and May 2013. Thirty male Wistar albino rats were divided into 3 groups, a control group, a Cis group, and a Cis+Ib group. The animals of the Cis group were injected with a single dose (7 mg/kg) of Cis intraperitoneally. The animals of the Cis+Ib group were injected with a single dose (7 mg/kg) of Ib 72 hours prior to Cis injection. RESULTS: The TNF-α, interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β), nitric oxide (NO) and adenosine deaminase (ADA) levels of the Cis group were higher than both the control group TNF-α (p<0.001), IL-1a (p<0.001), NO (p<0.001) and ADA (p<0.001), and the Cis+Ib group TNF-α (p<0.001), IL-1β (p<0.001), NO (p<0.001), and ADA (p=0.003). Histopathological examination revealed extensive damage in the Cis group, while the damage in the Cis+Ib group was lower. While the carbonic anhydrase II (CA-II) level of the Cis group was lower than both groups, it was similar in the Cis+Ib and the control groups. CONCLUSION: Infliximab acts against Cis-induced nephrotoxicity by a strong inhibition of TNF-α. Additionally, the combination of these 2 drugs does not obviously change the level of CA-II.