Search

Objectives The aim of this study was to investigate the possible protective effect of ellagic acid ( EA) against gentamicin ( GEN)-induced nephrotoxicity using biochemical, molecular and histopathological approaches. Methods Rats ( n = 24) were divided into four groups: control, GEN (100 mg/kg, i.p.), EA (10 mg/kg, p.o.) and GEN plus EA. The regimes were administered for 10 successive days. 24 h after last treatment, kidney and blood samples were collected. Key findings Ellagic acid treatment significantly reduced plasma creatinine and urea levels, which were initially increased due to GEN administration. Also, EA significantly ameliorated oxidative stress markers including lipid peroxidation, catalase ( CAT) and superoxide dismutase ( SOD) enzyme activity as well as glutathione ( GSH) content in kidney tissue. Activation of caspase-3 and increase in the ratio of Bcl-2/Bax expression observed in GEN-treated group were significantly ameliorated by EA treatment. EA also protected GEN-induced mitochondrial damages as indicated by decreasing the mitochondrial ROS content, preventing of mitochondrial membrane potential ( MMP) loss, reducing mitochondrial swelling and decreasing cytochrome c release. In addition, histopathological findings revealed that EA ameliorates GEN-induced kidney injury. Conclusions Our findings suggest that EA treatment attenuates GEN-induced nephrotoxicity, which may be ascribed to its antioxidant and anti-apoptotic properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Healthcare professionals worldwide have expressed concern over infections by extended-spectrum ß-lactamase (ESBL) and metallo-ß-lactamase (MBL)–producing bacteria. We evaluated the prevalence of ESBL- and MBL-producing Escherichia coli (E. coli) isolated from community-acquired urinary tract infections (UTIs) and their antibiotic-resistance profiles at 3 private laboratories in Tehran, Iran. E. coli isolates were mostly susceptible to meropenem (90.4%) and imipenem (90.0%), followed by amikacin (89.0%) and gentamicin (84.7%). Moreover, we detected that, of the E. coli isolates, 67 (22.3%) were ESBL producers and 21 (7.0%) of E. coli isolates were MBL positive via the imipenem-ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) combined disc test. This report is the first, to our knowledge, on the prevalence of MBL-producing uropathogenic E. coli (UPEC) strains in Iran. The antibiotic resistance of E. coli isolates revealed that 122 (40.7%) were multidrug resistant. The high number of antibiotic-resistant and ß-lactamase–producing UPEC strains necessitates further attention and consideration, particularly MBL-producing strains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]