Vitamin B6 dose-dependently ameliorates renal hemodynamic toxicity of cisplatin in rat model of nephrotoxicity: the histopathologic and biochemical findings

Despite its significant anticancer activity, the clinical use of cisplatin is often limited by its undesirable side effects in the kidney known as nephrotoxicity. It is a common and often overlooked clinical entity that presents itself in the setting of oxidative stress-associated diseases in older individuals with renal failure. In this study, we investigated the antioxidant-protecting effects of vitamin B₆ in the kidney, with a view on the vasoregulatory role of renal pyridoxal 5′-phosphate at reducing the hemodynamic toxicity of cisplatin. Hence, 50 male Sprague–Dawley rats were randomly assigned in one of five groups of the study to receive a corresponding dose of either normal saline, vitamin B₆ (200 mg/kg/bw; i.m.) or cisplatin alone (7 mg/kg/bw; i.m.), or in combination with vitamin B₆ at low (100 mg/kg/bw; i.m.) and high dose (200 mg/kg/bw; i.m.) for 10 days as animal model of renal failure. Daily administration of cisplatin at a dose of 7 mg/kg/bw resulted in a significant increase in local and systemic oxidative stress of the kidney and a decrease in glomerular function as a result of early hemodynamic toxicity. Histopathological examinations of renal tissues revealed acute tubular necrosis with hyaline cast formation triggered by cisplatin over 9 days of the study, in addition to interstitial nephritis and tubular epithelial loss. Further biochemical studies in HVB group showed the protecting effects of supplemented vitamin B₆ at a high dose, including a slowdown in urinary enzyme activity, a significant decrease in plasma lipid peroxidation, and an increased tissue superoxide dismutase activity with recovery in the glomerular hemodynamicity and ATPase activity up to 50 % when compared to the low-dose rats and controls. In high-dose animals, the normal glomerular and tubular function on recovery from toxic renal failure led us to conclude that the antioxidant property of vitamin B₆ consistently increases with the dose intensity. The present study also provided evidence that high dose of vitamin B₆ prevented both functional and histological renal changes induced by cisplatin in rats, more efficient than low dose of the vitamin.