Evaluating the effect of short ischemic periods on subsequent rat renal ischemic injury

Introduction: Using brief episodes of ischemia and reperfusion (IR) prior to a more sustained IR insult – ischemic preconditioning (IPC) – can reduce IR injury of the heart, brain and many other tissues. The purpose of present study was to investigate the effect of 2min ischemic periods on subsequent rat renal IR injury. Methods: Male rat's renal IR injury was investigated in a right nephrectomized model. For this purpose plasma creatinine (Cr) and urea, creatinine clearance, fractional excretion of sodium and histological injury score (Jablonski score 0-4) were compared among these groups: IR group (40min of renal ischemia – followed by 24h reperfusion), sham group (no IR) and IPC group (3 times of 2min ischemia – 5min reperfusion before 40min of renal ischemia – followed by 24h reperfusion). Results: Necrosis score was significantly lower in IPC than IR group and cases with Jablonski score = 4 were significantly less frequent in IPC group compared to IR group (11.1% vs. 75%). Plasma Cr and urea, creatinine clearance and fractional excretion of sodium were not significantly different between IPC and IR groups. Cases with plasma urea levels higher than 190 mg/dl and also cases with fractional excretion of sodium beyond 2% were significantly less frequent in IPC group compared to IR group. Conclusion: Using three times of "2min ischemia–5min reperfusion" before the injurious ischemic insult can reduce rat renal histological injury and relatively attenuate functional renal injury.