Hydrogen Sulfide Mitigates Kidney Injury in High Fat Diet-Induced Obese Mice

Obesity is prevalent worldwide and is a major risk factor for the development and progression of kidney disease. Hydrogen sulfide (H(2)S) plays an important role in renal physiological and pathophysiological processes. However, whether H(2)S is able to mitigate kidney injury induced by obesity in mice remains unclear. In this study, we demonstrated that H(2)S significantly reduced the accumulation of lipids in the kidneys of high fat diet- (HFD-) induced obese mice. The results of hematoxylin and eosin, periodic acid-Schiff, and Masson's trichrome staining showed that H(2)S ameliorated the kidney structure, decreased the extent of interstitial injury, and reduced the degree of kidney fibrosis in HFD-induced obese mice. We found that H(2)S decreased the expression levels of tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin- (IL-) 6, and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 but increased the expression level of IL-10. Furthermore, H(2)S treatment decreased the protein expression of p50, p65, and p-p65 in the kidney of HFD-induced obese mice. In conclusion, H(2)S is able to mitigate renal injury in HFD-induced obese mice through the reduction of kidney inflammation by downregulating the expression of nuclear factor-kappa B. H(2)S or its releasing compounds may serve as a potential therapeutic molecule for obesity-induced kidney injury.