Cisplatin (CP) is an antineoplastic drug; however, owing to its nephrotoxicity, its clinical use is limited. We investigated whether vitexilactone (vitex) is a safe and effective treatment for CP induced kidney injury. We allocated Sprague-Dawley rats into six groups: control group, low dose-high dose vitex groups (40 and 80 mg/kg vitex for 6 days before administration of CP), CP group (single 6 mg/kg dose on day 6) and CP + low dose vitex-CP + high dose vitex group (40 and 80 mg/kg vitex for 6 days, and a single 6 mg/kg dose of CP on day 6. Rats were euthanized 5 days after CP treatment. After exposure to CP and/or vitex, total oxidative stress and total antioxidant status were assessed. The histology of the kidney was examined using hematoxylin and eosin, and periodic acid-Schiff. We used immunohistochemical and fluorescence staining to detect expression of caspase-3. We also measured blood urea nitrogen, uric acid and creatinine levels. Nephroprotective effects of vitex were associated with decreased serum toxicity markers and increased antioxidant activity. Vitex also reduced the expression of the apoptosis marker, caspase-3. Treatment with CP increased blood urea nitrogen, uric acid, creatinine levels and total antioxidant status, and decreased total antioxidant status compared to the control group. Use of vitex for protection from CP induced nephrotoxicity appears to be a safe and efficacious alternative for treatment of kidney injury.

Objective: Radiation is used to treat cancer but causes serious complications, such as liver toxicity. In this study, the protective effects of alpha lipoic acid against the unwanted effects of radiation used in many cancer treatments which can cause damage after treatment were investigated. Material and Methods: The sample consisted of 32 Sprague–Dawley male rats randomized equally into 4 groups. The control group received no intervention. The alpha lipoic acid group was administered 50 mg/kg (dissolved in 0.9% NaCl) for 3 days. The ionizing radiation group was exposed to a total of 30 Gy radiation in 10 Gy fractions per day. The ionizing radiation+alpha lipoic acid group was administered 50 mg/kg alpha lipoic acid® prior to exposure to a total of 30 Gy radiation in 10 Gy fractions per day. Rats were sacrificed by cervical dislocation, and the liver was removed for histopathological studies and superoxide dismutase and malondialdehyde assays. Liver tissues were histopathologically assessed using hematoxylin-eosin staining after 4 weeks of the experiment. Results: The ionizing radiation + alpha lipoic acid group had significantly less severe necrosis than the ionizing radiation group. Compared to the ionizing radiation group and the ionizing radiation + alpha lipoic acid group, superoxide dismutase enzyme activity was decreased with the addition of alpha lipoic acid. In addition, when the amount of malondialdehyde, which is a marker of oxidative stress, was examined, it was determined that the amount of malondialdehyde in the ionizing radiation + alpha lipoic acid group was lower than in the ionizing radiation Group. Conclusion: Alpha lipoic acid® mitigates radiotherapy-induced damage in liver tissue. Cite this article as: Gezer A, Laloglu A, Kirli Bolukbas M. Protective effects of alpha lipoic acid against ionizing radiation-induced hepatotoxicity in rats. Eurasian J Med., 2023;55(2), 104-108.

The germinal epithelium of the adult testis is susceptible to radiation induced damage. Amifostine is a drug used to prevent the side effects of radiotherapy (RT) and chemotherapy. We investigated the protective role of amifostine against RT induced damage to rat testis using the TUNEL assay. We used adult male rats divided equally into four groups: untreated control group; amifostine group, 200 mg/kg amifostine/day for 3 days; RT-saline group, 2 Gy/day local irradiation of testes for 3 days; RT-amifostine group, 2 Gy/day local irradiation of testes for 3 days plus 200 mg/kg amifostine 30 min before each irradiation. Four weeks after treatment, rats were sacrificed for histological examination and apoptosis was assessed using the TUNEL method. The TUNEL staining density was obtained by evaluating separate seminiferous tubules selected randomly from each section using the stereological fractionator method. Apoptosis in the seminiferous tubules in the control group and amifostine groups were evaluated as spontaneous. Frequent apoptosis was observed in the RT-saline group; a statistically significant difference was observed between the RT treated and untreated groups. Administration of amifostine 30 min before RT protected the testicular germ cells against apoptosis.