Increased excretion of urinary 20-HETE in rats with cyclosporine-induced nephrotoxicity

The present study examined the contribution of 20-hydroxy-5,8,11,14-eicosatetraenoic acid (20-HETE) in cyclosporine A (CsA)-induced renal nephrotoxicity. Treatment of rats with CsA (50 mg/kg) for 9 days induced renal damage as indicated by marked increase in urine flow (from 9.0 +/- 0.3 ml/day to 46.6 +/- 7.1 ml/day) and a 3 - 5-fold rise in blood urea nitrogen (BUN) levels. The urinary excretion of 20-HETE increased from 164 +/- 5 ng/day (N = 5) to 2432 +/- 290 ng/day (N = 5, P<0.01) after 9 days of CsA treatment. The increase in the urinary excretion of 20-HETE in the CsA treated rats was highly correlated with the increase in BUN levels (r = 0.819, P<0.001) and urine volume (r = 0.832, P<0.001). Immunohistochemical examination of kidney revealed that expression of cytochrome P450 4A (CYP4A) protein was markedly enhanced in the proximal tubules of CsA-treated rats. These results indicate that CsA-induced nephrotoxicity in rats is associated with a marked elevation in the renal production of 20-HETE and that 20-HETE may contribute to the pathophysiological condition of CsA-induced nephrotoxicity.