Betaine attenuates sodium arsenite-induced renal dysfunction in rats

Abstract

Exposure to higher levels of arsenic is a serious threat affecting human health worldwide. We investigated the protective role of betaine (N,N,N-trimethylglycine) against sodium arsenite-induced renal dysfunction in rats. Sodium arsenite (5 mg/kg, oral) was given to rats for 4 weeks to induce nephrotoxicity. Betaine (125 and 250 mg/kg, oral) was administered in rats for 4 weeks along with sodium-arsenite feeding. Arsenic-induced renal dysfunction was demonstrated by measuring serum creatinine, creatinine clearance, urea, uric acid, potassium, fractional excretion of sodium, and microproteinuria. Oxidative stress in rat kidneys was determined by assaying thiobarbituric acid reactive substances, superoxide anion generation, and reduced glutathione levels. Furthermore, hydroxyproline assay was done to assess renal fibrosis in arsenic intoxicated rats. Hematoxylin-eosin and picrosirius red staining revealed pathological alterations in rat kidneys. Renal endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) expression was determined by immuno-histochemistry. Concurrent administration of betaine abrogated arsenic-induced renal biochemical and histological changes in rats. Betaine treatment significantly attenuated arsenic-induced decrease in renal eNOS expression. In conclusion, betaine is protective against sodium arsenite-induced renal dysfunction, which may be attributed to its anti-oxidant activity and modulation of renal eNOS expression in rat kidneys.

Keywords:

• Arsenic
• betaine
• nephrotoxicity
• oxidative stress
• eNOS

Ethical approval

Institutional Animal Ethics Committee of Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, India approved the animal protocol (Protocol Approval No. 226/2018/46).

Author contributions

APS conceived, designed, and supervised the project. SS, AKS performed pharmacological treatments. DP did histological studies. SS, TK, APS did data analysis. TK, BS, HNY, APS wrote the manuscript. The manuscript submission was done after getting approval from every author.

Disclosure statement

No conflict of interest exists between authors of the manuscript.

Data availability statement

All data have been presented in the manuscript. No Supplementary data is available with authors.