EFFECTS OF ARTHRITIS AND BEE VENOM ON RENAL FUNCTION IN MICE

Abstract

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune, inflammatory, chronic and systemic disease. Its primary feature is the synovial inflammation, leading to a progressive destruction of articular cartilage and bone. Additionally, extra-articular harm and comorbidities such as renal dysfunction can occur. On the other hand, the envenomation by bee sting is an important public health problem, but there are also alternative and controversial proposals for the therapeutic use of this venom (BV) in inflammatory diseases, including RA. The occurrence of renal dysfunction in patients with RA has been attributed to multiple factors, including the classical therapeutic agents used to treat the disease. It is also known that BV may cause renal dysfunction, but the exact characteristics of its nephrotoxicity are not yet known. If RA and BV separately are factors that can lead to kidney dysfunction, the treatment of RA with BV may represent a relevant risk. Aiming to contribute to the knowledge about the renal dysfunction resulting from collagen-induced RA and BV envenomation (acute effect mimicking the sting), as well from the use of BV in the treatment of RA (chronic effect mimicking the treatment), this study will evaluate the following representative parameters: hematocrit, osmolality, protein, creatinine, urea, uric acid and alanine aminopeptidase (AAP) in urine and plasma, creatine kinase (CK), neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (N-GAL), tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-±, interleukin (IL)-1 and IL-6 in plasma and oxidative stress (oxidized glutathione [GSSG] / reduced glutathione [GSH] and malonaldehyde [MDA]) in the renal cortex and medulla and renal histological aspects in mice under control conditions and submitted to induction of arthritis by type II collagen in incomplete Freund's adjuvant (CIA) and selected by the presence of significant joint swelling, both groups with and without treatment with BV. (AU)