Schisandrae chinensis fructus extract protects against hepatorenal toxicity and changes metabolic ions in cyclosporine A rats.

ABSTRACT

While cyclosporin A (CsA) is an effective immunosuppressive agent, its clinical application is limited by serious hepatorenal toxicity. However, Schisandrae chinensis fructus extract (SCE) has been previously shown to alleviate the hepatorenal damage caused by CsA. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the protective effects of SCE against hepatorenal toxicity induced by CsA. Our results revealed that SCE can prevent and treat CsA-induced liver and kidney injury. Furthermore, SCE inhibited the upward trend of dUDP and CDP-ethanolamine in the urine of CsA rats, pathways of which are involved in pyrimidine and glycerophospholipid metabolism. We finally confirmed that this protection of SCE was regulated by the activation of Nrf2 signaling pathway and the inhibition of apoptosis. In summary, our findings indicated that SCE may effectively prevent and treat hepatorenal toxicity caused by CsA. In addition, metabolomic techniques identified potential biomarkers for the occurrence of hepatorenal toxicity in CsA rats.