Acta Veterinaria et Zootechnica Sinica ›› 2023, Vol. 54 ›› Issue (2): 779-786.doi: 10.11843/j.issn.0366-6964.2023.02.034

• BASIC VETERINARY MEDICINE • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Dexmedetomidine Inhibits NOX4 and Alleviates Acute Stress-induced Renal Injury in Rats

YANG Haotian1, CHEN Yongping2, WANG Zhiqiang1, HUANG Yuxiang1, MA Zhigang1, ZOU Yue1, WEI Niandong1, ZHANG Hong1, LI Xin1, DONG Jiaqiang1, Lü Mingzhe1, LI Hongbin1, LIU Liwei1, YANG Haoxuan3, ZHANG Guohua1, LIU Xuesong1, ZHONG Peng1, SHI Heye4, KOU Yuhong5, CHEN Zhifeng1*   

  1. 1. Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Branch of Heilongjiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Qiqihaer 161005, China;
    2. College of Veterinary Medicine, Qingdao Agricultural University, Qingdao 266109, China;
    3. Party Service Center in Gaotaizi, Zhalantun City, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Zhalantun 162650, China;
    4. Daqing Dulbert Mongol Autonomous County Animal Husbandry Technology Service Center, Daqing 166200, China;
    5. Soybean Research Institute, Heilongjiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Harbin 150086, China
  • Received:2022-08-01 Online:2023-02-23 Published:2023-02-21

Abstract: This study was conducted to investigate the protective effects of dexmedetomidine (DEX) on renal injury caused by acute stress in rats and to explore the protective pathways of DEX on rat kidney from the perspective of oxidative stress. In this study, an acute restraint stress model was used, in which rats were forced to swim for 15 minutes and restrained for 3 hours. This experiment was performed with biochemical assays, histopathological section observation to assess renal function, followed by determination of oxidative stress and proteins of pathways related to oxidative stress. The open-field experiments confirmed that the acute stress model had been successfully established. DEX decreased NOX4 expression and increased Nrf2/HO-1/NQO1 expression, and the kidney biochemical results were significantly normalized in the DEX-treated group compared with the acute stress group, and the damage was significantly reduced in the pathological sections. The experimental results suggest that DEX treatment of acute stress can affect NOX4/Nrf2/HO-1/NQO1 signaling pathway and inhibit oxidative stress. Therefore, DEX has a protective effect on acute stress-induced renal injury and has potential clinical applications in stress syndromes.

Key words: acute stress, oxidative stress, kidney injury, dexmedetomidine, NOX4

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