-Cisplatin is widely used as a standard chemotherapy for solid tumors. The major adverse effect of cisplatin is nephrotoxicity in proximal tubular cells, via oxidative stress, DNA damage, cell apoptosis, and inflammation. The aim of this study was to investigate the pharmacological effect and mechanism of fibrate drugs on cisplatin-induced renal proximal tubular cell death. Cisplatin decreased cell viability of LLC-PK1 and HK-2 cells in a dose-dependent manner. Cisplatin-induced apoptosis was attenuated by co-treatment with fenofibrate while less so with clofibrate and bezafibrate. Fenofibrate's protective effect was not complimented by co-treatment with GW6471, a PPARα antagonist, indicating the protective effect occurred via a PPARα-independent mechanism. Treating cells with cisplatin induced reactive oxygen species (ROS), c-JUN N-terminal kinase (JNK), and p38 kinase (p38), but not extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK). Fenofibrate reversed cisplatin-induced JNK and p38 activation, but had no effect on ROS production. The findings suggest fenofibrate's protective effect on cisplatin-induced cytotoxicity is mediated by inhibition of JNK and p38. Moreover, fenofibrate did not alter cisplatin's antitumor effect on cancer cell lines including T84, SW-480, HepG2, and SK-LU-1 cells. Therefore, fenofibrate may be a candidate agent for further development as an adjuvant to cisplatin treatment.

Background: Cisplatin is an effective chemotherapy but its main side effect, acute kidney injury, limits its use. Panduratin A, a bioactive compound extracted from Boesenbergia rotunda, shows several biological activities such as anti-oxidative effects. The present study investigated the nephroprotective effect of panduratin A on cisplatin-induced renal injury. Methods: We investigated the effect of panduratin A on the toxicity of cisplatin in both mice and human renal cell cultures using RPTEC/TERT1 cells. Results: The results demonstrated that panduratin A ameliorates cisplatin-induced renal toxicity in both mice and RPTEC/ TERT1 cells by reducing apoptosis. Mice treated with a single intraperitoneal (i.p.) injection of cisplatin (20 mg/kg body weight (BW)) exhibited renal tubule injury and impaired kidney function as shown by histological examination and increased serum creatinine. Co-administration of panduratin A (50 mg/kg BW) orally improved kidney function and ameliorated renal tubule injury of cisplatin by inhibiting activation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK)1/2 and caspase 3. In human renal proximal tubular cells, cisplatin induced cell apoptosis by activating pro-apoptotic proteins (ERK1/2 and caspase 3), and reducing the anti-apoptotic protein (Bcl-2). These effects were significantly ameliorated by co-treatment with panduratin A. Interestingly, panduratin A did not alter intracellular accumulation of cisplatin. It did not alter the anticancer efficacy of cisplatin in either human colon or non-small cell lung cancer cell lines. Conclusions: The present study highlights panduratin A has a potential protective effect on cisplatin's nephrotoxicity.

Background: Panduratin A is a bioactive cyclohexanyl chalcone exhibiting several pharmacological activities, such as anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidative, and anti-cancer activities. Recently, the nephroprotective effect of panduratin A in cisplatin (CDDP) treatment was revealed. The present study examined the potential of certain compounds derived from panduratin A to protect against CDDP-induced nephrotoxicity. Methods: Three derivatives of panduratin A (DD-217, DD-218, and DD-219) were semi-synthesized from panduratin A. We investigated the effects and corresponding mechanisms of the derivatives of panduratin A for preventing nephrotoxicity of CDDP in both immortalized human renal proximal tubular cells (RPTEC/TERT1 cells) and mice. Results: Treating the cell with 10 µM panduratin A significantly reduced the viability of RPTEC/TERT1 cells compared to control (panduratin A: 72% ± 4.85%). Interestingly, DD-217, DD-218, and DD-219 at the same concentration did not significantly affect cell viability (92% ± 8.44%, 90% ± 7.50%, and 87 ± 5.2%, respectively). Among those derivatives, DD-218 exhibited the most protective effect against CDDP-induced renal proximal tubular cell apoptosis (control: 57% ± 1.23%; DD-218: 19% ± 10.14%; DD-219: 33% ± 14.06%). The cytoprotective effect of DD-218 was mediated via decreases in CDDP-induced mitochondria dysfunction, intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation, activation of ERK1/2, and cleaved-caspase 3 and 7. In addition, DD-218 attenuated CDDP-induced nephrotoxicity by a decrease in renal injury and improved in renal dysfunction in C57BL/6 mice. Importantly, DD-218 did not attenuate the anti-cancer efficacy of CDDP in non-small-cell lung cancer cells or colon cancer cells. Conclusions: This finding suggests that DD-218, a derivative of panduratin A, holds promise as an adjuvant therapy in patients receiving CDDP.

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