Abstract：Objective To explore the protective effect of sulforaphane (SFN) on acute renal injury induced by mercury (Hg) in rats. Methods Thirty clean Wistar rats were randomly assigned to 5 groups based on their body weight, including the control group, low-, middle- and high-dose mercury exposed groups and SFN pre-treatment group, with 6 rats for each group. The rats in the control group and the three mercury exposed groups were subcutaneously injected with saline, while those in the SFN pre-treatment group received a subcutaneous injection of 2 mg/ml SFN. 2 hours later, the rats in the control group were intraperitoneally injected with saline, while those in the other four groups were intraperitoneally injected with 2.2 μmol/kg, 4.4 μmol/kg, 8.8 μmol/kg and 8.8 μmol/kg HgCl2 respectively. The rats were treated as above for 3 successive days. The exposure volume was 5 ml/kg. After the last administration, the contents of urinary mercury and protein as well as the activities of urinary alkaline phosphatase (ALP), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and β-N-acetyl-D-glucosaminidase (NAG) were determined. Blood was collected from the abdominal aorta for determination of blood urea nitrogen (BUN). Meanwhile, the levels of mercury, glutathione(GSH) and malondialdehyde (MDA), as well as the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) in the renal cortex were detected. The differences of the indicators among the groups were analyzed. Results Compared with the rats in the control group, the contents of urinary Hg and protein, of the renal cortex Hg, urinary and serum BUN, as well as the activities of urinary NAG, LDH and ALP and the contents of GSH and MDA in the renal cortex of the rats in the mercury exposed groups increased significantly (P<0.05 or P<0.01), while the activities of SOD and GSH-Px in the renal cortex markedly decreased(P<0.05 or P<0.01). Compared with the rats exposed to 8.8 μmol/kg HgCl2, the contents of urinary protein and serum BUN, the activities of urinary NAG, LDH and ALP and the contents of GSH and MDA in the renal cortex of the rats in the SFN pre-treatment group were significantly decreased (P<0.05 or P<0.01), while the activities of SOD and GSH-Px in the renal cortex were markedly increased (P<0.01). But no statistically significant differences were found in the contents of Hg in the urine and renal cortex (P>0.05). Conclusion SFN has a protective effect on mercury-induced acute renal toxicity in rats.
2016, Vol. 23 
