Development of an experimental model of nephrotoxicity co-existing with obesity in rats

Abstract

The present study attempted to develop an experimental model that would exhibit pathological features seen in individuals with obesity and nephrotoxicity suitable for pharmacological screening of drugs. A combination of high-fat diet and cisplatin at a dose of 5 mg/kg was used to induce obesity along with nephrotoxicity in Wistar rats. Animals were divided into four groups of six each. Group-I served as control, group-II served as obesity control, group-III served as nephrotoxicity control in normal rats to which cisplatin was injected on day 35 and group-IV rats served as nephrotoxic obese rats, which were fed with high-fat diet and on day 35 nephrotoxicity was induced by a single cisplatin injection (5 mg/kg, IP). Various parameters that represent obesity and nephrotoxicity such as the body weight, lipid profile, blood glucose, liver function markers, serum creatinine, blood urea nitrogen, urinary total protein and creatinine clearance were estimated. The assessed parameters of obesity and nephrotoxicity indicated that in the group-IV animals and exhibited prominent nephrotoxicity compared to the group-III rats. Histological assessment of kidney and liver substantiated the findings from the biochemical parameters. In summary this study revealed that it is possible to develop a unique rodent model of nephrotoxicity co-existing with obesity.