Objectives: To study the effects of bone-marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BM-MSCs) on adriamycin (ADR)-induced chronic nephropathy in rats.

Methods: 60 male Sprague-Dawley rats were distributed among 3 groups (20 rats each): (i) the negative control group, which was normal rats that received saline (vehicle); (ii) the positive control (ADR) group, which was rats that received 2 intravenous injections of ADR into the penile vein at 14 day intervals without treatment, and (iii) the MSC group, which were rats treated as for the ADR group that were also given 2 intravenous injections of MSCs (5 days after each ADR injection).

Results: ADR caused a significant reduction in animal body mass, survival rate, hemoglobin (Hb) content, serum albumin, and renal GSH, and significantly increased serum levels of triglycerides, cholesterol, urinary protein excretion and kidney injury molecule-1 (KIM-1), renal MDA, as well as caspase-3 expression and glomerular and tubulointerstitial damage compared with the negative control group. MSC treatment failed to improve animal survival rate, body mass, Hb level, proteinuria, or hypoalbuminemia; however, it mildly improved the serum BUN, hyperlipidemia, caspase-3 expression, urinary levels of KIM-1, renal oxidative stress markers, and glomerular and tubulointerstitial damage score.

Conclusion: administration of BM-MSCs during induction of ADR nephropathy provides partial protection, which could be due to improvements in the levels of of endogenous antioxidants, reduction of apoptosis, and maintenance of the integrity of the glomerular membrane.

Keywords: adriamycin; adriamycine; apoptose; apoptosis; cellules souches mésenchymateuses; glomerular; glomérulaire; mesenchymal stem cells; nephropathy; néphropathie.