The Role of Vaccinium Myrtillus in the Prevention of Renal Injury in an Experimental Model of Ruptured Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm

Abstract Objective: To examine the biochemical and histopathological renal effects of ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury using a ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm (RAAA) model in rats and to investigate the potential protective effects of whortleberry (Vaccinium myrtillus). Methods: Thirty-two male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly assigned into four groups - control, sham (I/R+glycerol), I/R, and I/R+whortleberry. Midline laparotomy alone was performed in the control group. Atraumatic abdominal clamps were attached under anesthesia to the abdominal aorta beneath the level of the renal artery in the groups subjected to I/R. Sixty-minute reperfusion was established one hour after ischemia. The sham group received five intraperitoneal doses of glycerol five days before I/R. The I/R+whortleberry group received a single intraperitoneal 50 mg/kg dose diluted with saline solution five days before I/R. All animals were finally euthanized by cervical dislocation following 60-min reperfusion. Results: Increases were observed in malondialdehyde (MDA) levels and tubular necrosis scores (TNS) in thin kidney tissues and in numbers of apoptotic renal tubule cells, together with a decrease in glutathione (GSH) levels, in sham and I/R groups. In contrast, we observed a decrease in MDA levels, TNS, and numbers of apoptotic renal tubule cells, and an increase in GSH levels with whortleberry treatment compared to the I/R group. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that whortleberry may be effective against acute kidney injury by reducing oxidative stress and apoptosis.

### 摘要
#### 目的
本研究采用大鼠破裂腹主动脉瘤（ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm, RAAA）缺血再灌注（ischemia/reperfusion, I/R）损伤模型，探究缺血再灌注损伤对肾脏的生化及组织病理学影响，并考察越橘（Vaccinium myrtillus）的潜在肾脏保护作用。
#### 方法
将32只雄性斯普拉-道来（Sprague-Dawley）大鼠随机分为四组：对照组、假手术（I/R+甘油）组、I/R组及I/R+越橘组。对照组仅实施正中剖腹术；I/R相关各组大鼠于麻醉状态下，在肾动脉下方的腹主动脉放置无创腹部血管夹，缺血1小时后恢复再灌注60分钟。假手术组于I/R造模前5天经腹腔给予5次甘油注射；I/R+越橘组于造模前5天经腹腔给予单次50 mg/kg、以生理盐水稀释的越橘制剂。所有大鼠于再灌注60分钟后均采用颈椎脱臼法处死。
#### 结果
与对照组相比，假手术组与I/R组大鼠肾组织中的丙二醛（malondialdehyde, MDA）水平、肾小管坏死评分（TNS）及肾小管上皮细胞凋亡数均升高，谷胱甘肽（glutathione, GSH）水平则显著降低。与I/R组相比，I/R+越橘组大鼠的MDA水平、TNS及肾小管上皮细胞凋亡数均降低，GSH水平则显著升高。
#### 结论
本研究结果表明，越橘可通过减轻氧化应激与细胞凋亡，对急性肾损伤发挥有效保护作用。