RESUMEN
Background and aim: Doxorubicin (DOX) is a chemotherapeutic drug with potential nephrotoxic effects on patients who are on cancer chemotherapy. An interest has been observed in using natural products to ameliorate the potential side effects of DOX. The present study is to investigate the cellular mechanisms underlying the protective effects of Barleria prionitis L. (BP) (Acanthaceae) extracts, DOX-induced acute kidney injury (AKI). Experimental procedure: Hexane (25 mg/kg/day), ethyl acetate (80 mg/kg/day), n-butanol (70 mg/kg/day), and water (120 mg/kg/day) extracts of BP, were administered to DOX-induced (5 mg/kg (2500 µL/kg), ip) Wistar rats for four consecutive weeks. At the end of the study, investigations were carried out for the assessment of biomarkers of nephrotoxicity, oxidative stress, inflammation, and apoptosis. Results: Treatments with BP extracts significantly reversed DOX-induced elevations in serum and urine biochemical markers of nephrotoxicity (serum creatinine; 21-33%, blood urea nitrogen; 26-58%, ß2-microglobulin; 19-22% and urine total protein; 47-67%). There was a reduction in the levels of tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin-1ß, and malondialdehyde in kidney homogenates of rats treated with the n-butanol extract (by 43, 62, and 24%) and water extract (by 57%, 85%, and 26%) (p < 0.05). Immunohistochemical expression of the pro-apoptotic B-cell associated X protein was reduced while the anti-apoptotic B-cell lymphoma gene product 2 protein was increased in kidney tissues after the treatments with BP extracts. Conclusions: The selected BP extracts significantly ameliorated DOX-induced AKI. The findings would open new vistas for the development of a drug using the BP extracts to minimize DOX-induced AKI in cancer patients.