Effects of heme oxygenase-1 transduced by cell penetrating peptide PEP-1 on renal ischemia/reperfusion injury in rats

Objective To investigate the effects of heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) transduced by cell penetrating peptide PEP-1 on renal ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury in rats.Methods Eighteen male Sprague-Dawley rats,aged 7-9 weeks,weighing 210-260 g,were randomly divided into 3 groups (n =6 each):sham operation group (group S),renal I/R injury group (group I/R) and fusion protein PEP-1/HO-I + I/R group (group HO).I/R injury was produced by occluding bilateral renal arteries for 45 min followed by reperfusion for 6 h.The fusion protein PEP-1/HO-1 was injected via the left iliac vein 30 min prior to ischemia in group HO.Bilateral renal arteries were only exposed but not occluded in group C.Blood samples were collected from the right common carotid artery at 6 h of reperfusion for determination of serum blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and creatinine (Cr) concentrations.The malondialdehyde (MDA) content,superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity and HO-1 expression in renal tissues were measured.Results Compared with group S,the levels of MDA,serum BUN and Cr were significantly increased,the SOD activity was decreased,and HO-1 expression was up-regulated in groups I/R and HO (P ＜0.05).Compared with group I/R,the levels of MDA,serum BUN and Cr were significantly decreased,the SOD activity was increased,and HO-1 expression was up-regulated in group HO (P ＜ 0.05).Conclusion HO-1 protein can be successfully transduced into renal tissues by PEP-1 and transduced HO-1 protein reduces renal I/R injury by inhibiting lipid peroxidation response. Key words: Heme oxygenase (decyclizing) ;  Reperfusion injury;  Kidney;  Cell penetrating peptide