Mitigation of gentamycin induced acute kidney injury due to benzothiazole derivatives N1 and N5: Antioxidant and renoprotective mechanisms in-vivo zebrafish

Abstract

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is marked by a rapid decline in renal function, often caused by oxidative stress and nephrotoxic agents. Complications limit current therapeutic strategies, and no specific drugs are available to prevent renal injury or accelerate recovery. In the present research, we investigated the therapeutic efficacy of synthesized 2-aminobenzothiazole derivatives, N1 and N5, in mitigating Gentamicin (Gen) -induced renal damage in vivo zebrafish. The preliminary work of radical scavenging and hemolysis inhibition assay revealed that, both compounds exhibited strong antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. Furthermore, acute toxicity assays in zebrafish embryo/larvae revealed no adverse effects at concentrations up to 200 μM were tested, highlighting the safety of these compounds. In the zebrafish AKI model, Gen exposure led to oxidative stress, inflammation, and impaired glomerular filtration with tissue damage. Treatment with N1 and N5 significantly reduced ROS levels, apoptosis, and lipid peroxidation and restored antioxidant enzyme activities. Furthermore, N5 treatment improved renal filtration and reduced proteinuria levels, indicating its ability to mitigate nephrotoxic effects. Gene expression analysis showed that N1 and N5 downregulated pro-inflammatory markers (cox-2, tnfα, mpo) and angiogenic mediators (vegf, vegfr2), demonstrating anti-inflammatory and anti-angiogenic properties. Histological analyses revealed that N1 and N5 attenuated glomerular and tubular damage, reduced necrosis, and promoted tissue repair. These findings highlight the potential of 2-aminothiazole derivatives as effective therapeutic agents for AKI, offering antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and cytoprotective benefits and warranting further investigation into their long-term efficacy in chronic kidney disease models.