The long-term effects of rapamycin-based immunosuppressive protocols on the expression of renal aquaporins 1, 2, 3 and 4 water channels in rats
Marta Grabowska1*, Katarzyna Michałek2*, Karolina Kędzierska-Kapuza3*, Andrzej Kram4, Kamil Gill1 and Małgorzata Piasecka1
1Department of Histology and Developmental Biology, Pomeranian Medical University, Szczecin, 2Department of Physiology, Cytobiology and Proteomics, West Pomeranian University of Technology, Szczecin, 3Department of Gastroenterological Surgery and Transplantation, Central Hospital of Ministry of Internal Affairs and Administration in Warsaw, Medical Center for Postgraduate Education, Warsaw and 4Department of Pathology, West Pomeranian Oncology Center, Szczecin, Poland
*These authors contributed equally to this work
Corresponding Author: Małgorzata Piasecka, Żołnierska Street 48, Szczecin, 71-210, Poland. e-mail: mpiasecka@ipartner.com.pl
Summary. Background. To this day, the effect of multi-drug immunosuppressive protocols on renal expression of AQPs is unknown. This study aimed to determine the influence of rapamycin-based multi-drug immuno-suppressive regimens on the expression of aquaporins (AQPs) 1, 2, 3, and 4 in the rat kidney.
Methods. For 6 months, 24 male Wistar rats were administered immunosuppressants, according to the three-drug protocols used in patients after organ transplantation. The rats were divided into four groups: the control group, the TRP group (tacrolimus, rapamycin, prednisone), the CRP group (cyclosporine A, rapamycin, prednisone), and the MRP group (mycophenolate mofetil, rapamycin, prednisone). Selected red cell indices and total calcium were measured in the blood of rats and quantitative analysis of AQP1, AQP2, AQP3 and AQP4 immunoexpression in the kidneys were performed.
Results. In the TRP and CRP groups, a mild increase of mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration, hematocrit and total calcium were observed. Moreover, decreased expression of AQP1-4 was found in all experimental groups, with the highest decrease in the CRP group.
Conclusions. The long-term immunosuppressive treatment using multi-drug protocols decreased AQP1-4 expressions in renal tubules, possibly leading to impaired urine-concentrating ability in rat. Histol Histopathol 36, 459-474 (2021)
Key words: Kidney, Aquaporins, Immunosuppressants, Immunohistochemistry
DOI: 10.14670/HH-18-321
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©The Author(s) 2021. Open Access. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons CC-BY International License. |
