The Effect of N-Acetylcysteine Use on Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress in the Kidney Tissues of Obese Rats

Abstract

Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress has recently acquired increasing importance in the pathogenesis of obesity-associated kidney disease. N-acetylcysteine, otherwise known as NAC, is an antioxidant that works directly and indirectly by increasing the production of antioxidants in cells. A diet consisting of 60% calories from fat was used to establish the obesity model for the present investigation. In the NAC and obesity + NAC (ObNAC) groups, NAC was administered by intragastric tube at 150 mg/kg for eight weeks. GRP78 and PERK expressions were determined immunohistochemically in sections collected from kidney tissues at the end of the experiment. The GRP78 H score was significantly higher in the obese group than in the control, NAC, and ObNAC groups (p<0.01). The ObNAC group H-score was significantly lower than that of the obese group (p < 0.01) but was not different from the control and NAC groups. The obese group PERK H-score was also significantly higher than the control, NAC, and ObNAC groups (p<0.01). In the ObNAC group, the H-score was significantly lower than that in the obese group (p<0.01) and significantly higher than those in the control and NAC groups (p<0.01). Increasing changes in stress markers may be improved by NAC application, since obesity induced by a high-fat diet activates ER stress in kidney tissue.