Effect of N-acetylcysteine on antioxidant status in glycerol-induced acute renal failure in rats

Myoglobinuric acute renal failure has three pathogenic mechanisms: tubular obstruction, renal vasoconstriction, and oxidative stress. The latter is generated through the iron released from the group hemo of the myoglobin. Iron induces the formation of high-activity oxygen free radicals that increase oxidative stress and provoke lipid peroxidation and cellular death. This oxidative stress can be measured in several ways, both total or partially with the total antioxidant status or the intermediate enzymes. On the other hand, N-acetylcysteine is a demonstrated substance with antioxidant properties. The aim of the present work was to assess the effect of N-acetylcysteine on the oxidative stress in the glycerol-induced acute renal failure in rats model. We observed that the animals treated with N-acetylcysteine showed an improvement in the antioxidant activity given by an increase in the total antioxidant status and glutathione reductase levels in serum. This improvement was greater when treatment was administered before the induction of rhabdomyolysis. Nevertheless, the observed increase in antioxidant status was only statistically significant for glutathione reductase but not for total antioxidant status. Our results support an important role for N-acetylcysteine in the treatment of this form of acute renal failure, although we think that oxidative stress is not the main pathogenic mechanism of the tubular necrosis induced by rhabdomyolysis, tubular obstruction and renal vasoconstriction being still more important.