effect of tempol, a synthetic antioxidant, on renal complications of l-name induced preeclampsia in rat

Introduction: it has been suggested that oxidative stress has a crucial role in the pathophysiology of preeclampsia. in the present study, the effect of tempol, a synthetic antioxidant, on kidney injuries and oxidative stress was investigated in an experimental model of preeclampsia in rats.methods: preeclampsia was induced by oral administration of l-name to the rats on the day 10 of pregnancy. animals were randomly divided into six groups (10-15 rats in each group); (i) normal pregnant (ii) preeclamptic (iii, iv, v) preeclamptic + tempol 20, 60 and 180 mg/kg/day, respectively, (vi) preeclamptic + hydralazine 10 mg/kg/day. urine levels of sodium, potassium, creatinine, lactate dehydrogenase and 24 h protein, blood levels of creatinine and urea, in addition to malondialdehyde concentration in blood and kidney, as well as histological glomeruli changes were assessed.results: l-name administration caused proteinuria and glomerular pathological changes. tempol (20 and 60 mg/kg/day) significantly reduced plasma and renal (p<0.001) malondialdehyde levels and proteinuria (the biggest calculated p-value was less than 0.05) in preeclamptic rats. tempol at the dose of 20 mg/kg/day improved the histological changes in preeclamptic animals, but the dose of 60 mg/kg/day restored histological findings. l-name did not change the other measured parameters. hydralazine and highest dose of tempol (180 mg/kg/day) failed to affect biochemical and histological changes in experimental preeclampsia.conclusion: renal complications of experimental preeclampsia such as proteinuria and glomerular injuries can be prevented by tempol. the desired effects of tempol depend on its dose.