Abstract

In this study, the effect of iloprost on renal ischemia-reperfusion injury was investigated using an experimental rat model. Adult male Wistar rats subjected to 60 min of unilateral warm ischemia were allocated into sham (n = 4), control (n = 7) and iloprost (n = 7) groups. Iloprost was administered intravenously via the right external jugular vein at a dose of 2 ng/kg/min. Infusion started the same time as we clamped the artery of the left kidney and continued for about an hour in the early phase of reperfusion. Blood samples for biochemical parameters were drawn just before and 72 h after clamping the renal artery. Histopathological examinations of the kidney specimens were performed to detect probable changes due to reperfusion injury. Mean blood urea nitrogen and creatinine levels after 72 h were lower in the iloprost group than the control group, but the difference between these two groups was not significant. Severe (grade 2 or 3) acute tubular necrosis was detected in 86% of rats in the control group; the ratio was 57% in the iloprost group. But the difference between these two groups was not significant. Although, these findings suggest that iloprost treated rats have less injury, iloprost does not reduce ischemia-reperfusion injury in a rat model when only given during the ischemic and early reperfusion period.

Key words: Iloprost, ischemia-reperfusion injury, renal, kidney.