Gender difference in the development of cardiac lesions following acute ischemic-reperfusion renal injury in albino rats.

Renal ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) is the major cause of acute renal failure. Renal I/R have distant effects on other organs, especially the heart. The purpose of this study was to investigate cardiac lesion following bilateral renal ischemia (50 minutes) and reperfusion (48 hours) in adult rats, to test sex differences in the development of cardiac lesions after acute renal I/R and to investigate the effect of estrogen on this type of cardiac lesions. 70 adult albino rats were divided into 7 groups: control male, I/R male, control female, I/R female, female with bilateral ovariectomy, I/R female with bilateral ovariectomy and I/R female with bilateral ovariectomy treated with estrogen. Renal and cardiac functions in both sexes were deteriorated following acute renal I/R injury proved by the increase in serum urea, creatinine, lactate dehydrogenase and creatine kinase levels. These cardiac lesions are mainly due to the oxidative stress response in the form of the increase in cardiac tissue lipid peroxide, and the decrease in cardiac tissue glutathione reductase, superoxide dismutase and catalase levels. In conclusion, female rats are more protected from the renal and cardiac lesions following acute renal I/R injury than male, since estrogen significantly decreases these lesions mainly by inhibiting the oxidative stress response.