Co-administration of retinoic acid and atorvastatin mitigates high-fat diet induced renal damage in rats

Obesity causes many problems such as cardiovascular and chronic kidney diseases. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of retinoic acid and atorvastatin co-administration in kidneys protection against high-fat diet induced damage. Twenty-five male Wistar rats (200.00 ± 20.00 g) were divided into five groups: 1) Control (standard diet), 2) High-fat diet (cholesterol 1.00%, 75 days), 3) High-fat diet + atorvastatin (20.00 mg kg-1 per day, orally, on the 30th day, for 45 consecutive days), 4) High-fat diet + retinoic acid (5 mg kg-1per day, orally, on the 30th day, for 45 consecutive days), and 5) High fat diet + atorvastatin and retinoic acid. At the end, blood and tissue samples were collected for biochemical and histological analyses. The results showed that atorvastatin and retinoic acid alone and in combination decreased cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein and increased high-density lipoprotein in high-fat diet. Also, atorvastatin – caused total antioxidant capacity increase and protein carbonyl content decrease the in the renal tissue. Atorvastatin also prevented high-fat diet-induced renal histological injury. Treatment with atorvastatin significantly mitigates high-fat diet-induced renal changes probably due to its potent antioxidant and lipid-lowering effects. The effect of retinoic acid in renal protection in a high-fat diet is far less than that of atorvastatin. The protective effect of the combination of these two agents in the high-fat diet on the kidneys seems to be due to the effect of atorvastatin.