Melatonin with 1,25-Dihydroxyvitamin D3 Protects against Apoptotic Ischemia–Reperfusion Injury in the Rat Kidney

Figures & data

Table 1.  The serum values of SCr, BUN, ALT, and AST.

Groups (n = 6)	SCr	BUN	ALT	AST
Control	0.18 ± 0.03	17.80 ± 0.58	65.60 ± 10.43	294.80 ± 54.70
I/R	1.58 ± 0.15^a	82.0 ± 6.65^a	233.33 ± 19.78^a	375.00 ± 33.93
Mel + I/R	0.61 ± 0.15^b,c	26.0 ± 4.91^c	48.33 ± 6.51^c	127.50 ± 10.49^a,c
VD3 + I/R	0.93 ± 0.08^a,d	38.50 ± 2.27^a,c	164.33 ± 16.84^a,e,f	323.33 ± 31.11^f
Mel + VD3 + I/R	0.55 ± 0.20^c	24.33 ± 6.83^c	102.16 ± 20.90^c,g,i	172.83 ± 18.99^c,h

Notes: The values expressed as mean ± SEM.

^ap < 0.005, ^bp < 0.01 compared with the control group.

^cp < 0.005, ^dp < 0.01, ^ep < 0.05 compared with the I/R group.

^fp < 0.005, ⁱp < 0.05 compared with the Mel + IR group.

^gp < 0.05, ^hp < 0.005 compared with the VD3 + IR group.

Table 2.  Immunohistochemical distribution of caspase-3 in the kidney tissue sections in all groups.

Groups	Tubuli	Glomeruli
Control	−/+	−/+
I/R	+++	++
Mel + I/R	+/++	+/++
VD3 + I/R	+/++	+/++
Mel + VD3 + I/R	−/+	−/+

Note: −, nonstaining; +, weak staining; ++, moderate staining; and +++, strong staining.

Figure 1.  Histomorphology of kidneys. Light photomicrographs of PAS-stained sections of kidney from control rats and ischemic kidney from rats treated with Mel and VD3. (A) Control group, (B) focal loss of epithelial brush border lining of tubular cells (arrow) in the I/R group, (C) Mel + I/R group, (D) VD3 + I/R group, and (E) Mel + VD3 + I/R group. Bar = 20 μm. Asterisk denotes glomeruli.

Figure 2.  Immunoreactivity of caspase-3. (A) Control group, (B) I/R group, (C) Mel + I/R group, (D) VD3 + I/R group, and (E) Mel + VD3 + I/R group. Bar = 20 μm.

Figure 3.  Effects of Mel and VD3 treatment on apoptosis induced by renal I/R. Apoptosis was evaluated by TUNEL staining (Brown nuclei). (A) Control group, (B) I/R group, (C) Mel + I/R, (D) VD3 + I/R, and (E) Mel + VD + I/R group. Bar = 20 μm.

Figure 4.  Percentage of TUNEL-positive cells in kidney sections.

Notes: The values are expressed as mean ± SEM. ^ap < 0.001 versus control group; ^bp < 0.001 versus I/R group; ^cp < 0.01 versus Mel + I/R, VD3 + I/R groups.