In a new study, researchers found an antioxidant compound known as peroxiredoxin to be effective in treating kidney injury.
They say the peroxiredoxin also offers hopes for longer kidney transplant storage.
The research was conducted by Russian scientists from the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology and elsewhere.
Living tissues rely on a constant inflow of blood for survival. Restrictions in blood supply, known as ischemia, lead to a shortage of oxygen and nutrients.
This may make the tissue more acidic and impair cell membrane permeability. Ultimately, tissue damage can arise, with the kidney, heart, and nerve tissues being the most vulnerable.
When normal blood inflow resumes, this so-called reperfusion does not cause the damaged tissue to regenerate.
Instead, the concentration of reactive oxygen species grows, bringing about oxidative stress and further harming the cells.
The causes of ischemia include blood vessel constriction, changes in blood pressure or heart rate, loss of blood, and trauma.
The ischemia reperfusion syndrome remains a key factor in organ pathologies. When it affects the kidneys, acute renal failure may occur, resulting in death in half of the cases.
Since oxidative stress is involved in the tissue damage under ischemia reperfusion, antioxidants are a particularly promising treatment option because they reduce oxidative stress.
In the study, the team used antioxidant enzymes from the peroxiredoxins family.
To prove the efficiency of the enzyme in kidney injury treatment, the researchers ran experiments on mice with kidney injury and found three in five mice alive when they received the antioxidant.
The team says the compound could suppress oxidative stress and cell death, resulting in much less tissue damage in the kidney.
The lead author of the study is Mars Sharapov of MIPT and the Institute of Cell Biophysics.
The study is published in Cell and Tissue Research.
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