Abstract

Obesity is a global problem due to widespread consumption of high fat diet (HFD) with implications to well-being. This study was to investigate the modulatory effect of sibutramine and normal diet on obesity-induced alteration in kidney functions and adipokines in Wistar rats. Hundred rats were divided into four groups of 25 each and fed with either normal rat chow (NRC) (group I, control group, n=25) or HFD (n=75). Obese rats were subjected to treatment with HFD (group II, Obese + HFD, n=25), Sibutramine and NRC (group III, Obese + Sibutramine + NRC, n=25); and NRC (group IV, Obese + NRC, n=25) for another 12 weeks. Five rats from each group were sacrificed, urine and blood samples collected for baseline values after the acclimatization period. Similarly, at post induction, 4, 8 and 12 weeks urine and blood samples were collected from 5 rats per group for investigations. Induction of obesity significantly (p<0.05) increased mean Lee index, urine albumin, urine albumin:creatinine ratio, serum interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, tumor necrotic factor (TNF)-α, interferon (IFN)-γ, leptin and decreased urine creatinine and serum adiponectin compared to control. Sibutramine treatment and withdrawal of HFD ameliorated these effects. Obesity induced renal impairment by deranging renal and inflammatory biomarkers investigated in this study. These adverse effects on the kidney were mitigated by sibutramine10 mg/kg/day and NRC by resisting the disturbance, thereby showing nephron-protective effect. The combined treatment of sibutramine with NRC reduced progression of kidney disease to a lesser extent than NRC alone suggesting nonsynergistic effect.

Key words: Adipokines, cytokines, diet modification, obesity, renal function, sibutramine, urine albumin creatinine ratio.