Effects of different doses of simvastatin on lead-induced kidney damage in Balb/c male mice

Background: lead is known to be a highly toxic heavy metal. there are a limitednumber of studies investigating the effects of antioxidants on lead-induced kidneydamage. statins are widely used drugs for the treatment of hypercholesterolaemia, butthey also have other pleiotropic effects. the aim of this study was to determine theeffect of different doses of simvastatin on biochemical and histopathologicalparameters in mice exposed to lead. methods: forty eight adult male mice wererandomised into six groups. the control group received no lead. group ii was injectedinteraperitoneally with 60 mg/kg lead acetate and groups iii-vi receivedintraperitoneally 5-10-20-40 mg/kg simvastatin plus 60 mg/kg lead. after 14 days, astereological study was done in accordance with the principle of cavalieri and serumconcentrations of urea and creatinine were measured. data were analyzed using spsssoftware and anova. results: lead acetate treatment caused collapse of glomeruli,glumerulosclerosis, necrosis and vacuolization in renal tubules. administration of 20mg of simvastatin reduced the severity of kidney damage. glomerular volume in thegroups treated with 40 mg of simvastatin was significantly different from the grouptreated with lead alone (p =0.001). the number of renal glomeruli in the group treatedwith 5 mg of simvastatin were significantly difference compared to the lead treatedgroup (p =0.027). serum concentrations of urea and creatinine were not significantlydifferent in the groups treated with simvastatin compared to the group treated withlead alone. conclusions: treatments with simvastatin caused protective effects onrenal tissue of mice exposed to lead. however, there was no significant effect on ureaand creatinine levels.