protective effects of long-term high-intensity interval training on cisplatin-induced renal injury in male rats

Background: cisplatin is a potent chemotherapeutic agent whose clinical use is limited by acute nephrotoxicity. this study aimed to evaluate the impact of high-intensity interval training (hiit) on renal function and histology in cisplatin-treated rats. materials and methods: thirty-two male sprague-dawley rats were assigned to four groups (n=8): healthy control (hc): no intervention; cisplatin control (cc): received cisplatin only (single intraperitoneal injection, 5 mg/kg); exercise control (ex): underwent 8-week hiit protocol only (treadmill running), cisplatin+exercise (cis+ex): received cisplatin + 8-week hiit protocol. nephrotoxicity was induced by a single intraperitoneal cisplatin injection (5 mg/kg). serum creatinine and urea were measured, and kidney tissues were analyzed using stereological methods. results: cisplatin administration significantly increased serum creatinine (cc: 1.28±0.11 mg/dl vs hc: 0.45±0.08 mg/dl, p=0.001) and urea (cc: 112.5±8.4 mg/dl vs hc: 45.3±5.1 mg/dl, p=0.001). hiit in cisplatin-treated rats significantly reduced these levels (creatinine: c-hiit: 0.68±0.09 mg/dl vs cc, p=0.016; urea: c-hiit: 58.7±6.9 mg/dl vs cc, p=0.005). stereological analysis revealed cisplatin-induced increases in kidney volume (p=0.003), glomerular volume (p=0.039), and cortical volume (p=0.02), which were significantly attenuated by hiit (p<0.05 for all).  conclusion: an 8-week hiit protocol significantly ameliorated cisplatin-induced renal dysfunction and histological damage in rats. these findings highlight the potential of hiit as a non-pharmacological strategy to mitigate chemotherapy-related nephrotoxicity.