title: Beneficial effect of ubiquinol, the reduced form of coenzyme Q10, on cyclosporine nephrotoxicity.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Cyclosporine (CyA) nephrotoxicity is partly due to some oxidative stress. Ubiquinol, the reduced form of coenzyme Q10 (rCoQ10), has recently gained attention for its anti-oxidative potential. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of rCoQ10 on a CyA nephrotoxic rat model.
  
  
  METHODS
  Six-week-old male Wistar rats were divided into three groups (five animals each). Group 1 received a medium only. Group 2 received 30 mg/kg/day of CyA only. Group 3 received both the same dose of CyA and 600 mg/kg/day of rCoQ10. CyA and rCoQ10 were both given orally for four weeks. Systolic blood pressure (BP), daily urinary albumin secretion (u-Alb), serum creatinine (s-Cr) level, and super-oxide anion (SO) level in the renal tissue were measured and compared among those three groups. Immunohistochemistry using an antibody for the transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) was also examined.
  
  
  RESULTS
  BPs, u-Albs, s-Crs, and SO levels of groups 1, 2, and 3 were 114 ± 3, 132 ± 4, and 129 ± 5 mmHg, 2.6 ± 0.5, 42.1 ± 7.2, and 22.8 ± 3.4 micro-g/day, 1.1 ± 0.2, 1.7 ± 0.2, and 1.3 ± 0.2 mg/dL, and 224 ± 84, 1251 ± 138, and 512 ± 109 RLU/g kidney respectively. U-Albs, s-Crs, and SO levels were signifi cantly ameliorated by rCoQ10. Micro-vacuolar changes and TGF-beta positive deposits in the proximal renal tubular cells of CyA group rats disappeared in those of CyA and rCoQ10 group rats.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  RCoQ10, an antioxidants, may have potential for preventing CyA nephrotoxicity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Graduate School of Medicine, the University of Tokyo, Japan. ishikawaa-uro@h.u-tokyo.ac.jp
authors.forename: Akira
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ishikawa
authors.forename: Yukio
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Homma
mesh_terms: D000419:Albuminuria / Q000517:prevention & control; D000818:Animals; D000975:Antioxidants / Q000008:administration & dosage; D003404:Creatinine / Q000097:blood; D016572:Cyclosporine / Q000009:adverse effects*; D019587:Dietary Supplements; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents / Q000009:adverse effects*; D007668:Kidney / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D007674:Kidney Diseases / Q000139:chemically induced*; D008297:Male; D018977:Micronutrients / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D018384:Oxidative Stress / Q000187:drug effects; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D016212:Transforming Growth Factor beta / Q000378:metabolism; D014451:Ubiquinone / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000031:analogs & derivatives*
chemical_list: D000975:Antioxidants; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents; D018977:Micronutrients; D016212:Transforming Growth Factor beta; D014451:Ubiquinone; D016572:Cyclosporine; D003404:Creatinine; C003741:ubiquinol