A histopathological study on the effects of atorvastatin against gentamicin-induced renal injury

Introduction: Gentamicin is an aminoglycoside antibiotic that is widely administered to treat infections caused by gram-negative bacteria. Gentamicin may cause renal injury in patients after seven days of administration. Atorvastatin is a cholesterol-lowering statin that acts through the mevalonate pathway. Objectives: In this study, we investigated the histopathological effects of atorvastatin against gentamicin-induced renal injury. Materials and Methods: Twenty male Wistar rats were randomly assigned into five groups and treated as the following; group 1 (normal group, no drug), group 2 [gentamicin group, daily 80 mg/kg, intra-peritoneal (i.p.) for 7 days], groups 3 to 5 (gentamicin 80 mg/kg + atorvastatin at doses of 5, 25 and 75 mg/kg, respectively). Kidney sections were examined for histopathological parameters including vacuolization of the kidney tubular cells, degeneration, necrosis, flattening of the tubular cells and debris in the tubular lumen. Results: Compared to the normal group, gentamicin significantly exacerbated the histopathological parameters. Treatment with atorvastatin significantly decreased vacuolization, degeneration, necrosis and debris in the nephrotoxic rats. Conclusion: The findings of this research indicated that atorvastatin therapy can ameliorate histopathological renal injury following gentamicin injection.