Role of glyceryl trinitrate, a nitric oxide donor, in the renal ischemia-reperfusion injury of rats

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Ischemia-reperfusion injury is a serious clinical situation which can cause serious morbidity and mortality. An experimental renal ischemia-reperfusion injury model was designed to evaluate the role of glyceryl trinitrate (GTN) on renal function and histology. METHODS: 50 Wistar albino rats were used in our study. Five groups were formed: (1) sham-control group; (2) acute renal ischemia (ARI) group with placebo (0.9% NaCl) infusion; (3) GTN infusion with a 75 microg/kg/min dose prior to ARI was administered; (4) GTN infusion with a 150 microg/kg/min dose prior to ARI was given, and finally (5) 150 microg/kg/min GTN infusion after the ARI period was applied. Serum BUN and creatinine levels were measured for evaluation of renal function. T(max-sec), glomerular filtration rate (GFR), and T(max-min) results following a (99m)Tc-DTPA diuretic renal scintigraphy were used. Histological examination was performed on nephrectomy specimens. RESULTS: Groups 2 and 5 showed higher BUN, creatinine, and lower GFR values than the other groups (p = 0.0001). There was no difference in BUN, creatinine, and GFR levels between groups 2 and 5 (p = 0.971, p = 0.739, p = 0.393). Also the T(max-sec) values were higher in groups 2 and 5 compared with the other groups (p = 0.0001). The presence of tubular necrosis was different between groups and was higher in groups 2 and 5 (p = 0.002). CONCLUSION: The application of GTN, a nitric oxide donor, has caused significant improvement in renal function when applied prior to an experimentally designed renal ischemia-reperfusion model. But administration of GTN had no effect after occurrence of ischemia.