Evaluation of the effects of taurine on cisplatin-induced kidney injury and oxidative stress in male rats

Introduction: Cisplatin is used as a chemotherapeutic agent for the treatment of human ovarian and testicular cancers. This study was designed to investigate the protective role of taurine against cisplatin-induced kidney injury. Methods: Male Wistar rats were divided into 4 groups (n=8) (1) saline-treated group (2) cisplatin-treated group (10 mg/kg, i.p.), (3) group that received taurine (200 mg/kg, i.p) 1 hr before cisplatin (10 mg/kg, i.p) administration and (4) taurine treated group (200 mg/kg, i.p). The treatment period was 7 days. Animals were then weighed and blood samples were collected from the heart. After sacrifice, kidneys were removed and kept at -70 °C until further analyses. Results: Cisplatin significantly elevated the creatinine and blood urea nitrogen (BUN) serum levels (P<0.05). Pretreatment with taurine resulted in a remarkable reduction of these markers. The catalase activity in cisplatin-treated rats was significantly decreased (P<0.05) and taurine administration could remarkably recover this decreased activity. Malondialdehyde (MDA) content of the kidneys was increased in cisplatin-exposed animals and taurine significantly reduced the amount of MDA. Conclusion: Our data suggest that pretreatment with taurine might be considered as a protective approach in cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity.