Protective effect of N-acetylcysteine (NAC) on renal ischemia/reperfusion injury through Nrf2 signaling pathway

The aim of this study was to investigate whether N-acetylcysteine (NAC), a known antioxidant, can protect kidney against ischemic injury through regulating Nrf2 signaling pathway. The expression of Nrf2, HO-1 and cleaved caspase 3 were analyzed by Western blot analysis. Apoptosis of renal tubular epithelial cells was assessed by the TUNEL method. Malondialdehyde (MDA) levels were measured by the thiobarbituric acid reaction. Blood serum creatinine and blood urea nitrogen levels were measured with an Olympus automatic multi-analyzer. We found that NAC significantly increased Nrf2 and downstream HO-1 expression. Furthermore, NAC significantly decreased cleaved caspase 3, p53 and renal epithelial tubular cell apoptosis. In addition, NAC reduced the MDA level. These findings suggest that the protective action of NAC on ischemia renal injury is associated closely with Nrf2 signaling pathway.