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Cisplatin is an effective chemotherapy used to treat tumors. However, the use of cisplatin is limited due to side effects, mainly nephrotoxicity. Pulsatillae Radix is known to possess anti-inflammatory activities. The aim of this study was to test the protective effect of Pulsatilla Radix on cisplatin-induced renal failure in mice. Pulsatillae Radix was administered (300 mg/kg p.o.) once a day for 3 days. At day 3, all groups of mice received a single injection of cisplatin (25 mg/kg i.p.). Pulsatillae Radix treatment ameliorated renal dysfunction 72 h after cisplatin administration. Mice treated with Pulsatillae Radix showed significantly reduced levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines compared to the control group. Moreover, Pulsatillae Radix did not disturb the anti-tumor effect of cisplatin in tumor-bearing mice. These results showed that Pulsatillae Radix has renoprotective effects and may represent a new treatment strategy in cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity.

Nephrotoxicity limits the use of cisplatin, a widely used chemotherapeutic agent for treatment of various malignancies. Overall, CD4+ T cells mediate cisplatin-induced renal injury; however, the CD4+CD25+ regulatory T-cell subset (CD4+CD25+ Treg) has broad suppressive effects on many different cell types. In this study, we determined whether CD4+CD25+ Treg cells had protective effects against cisplatin-induced acute renal injury in nu/nu mice that lack mature T cells. In these mice, there was marked attenuation of the decreased survival, renal dysfunction and tubular injury, renal tumor necrosis factor-α, and interleukin-1β cytokine levels. Furthermore, renal macrophage accumulation was reduced in CD4+CD25+ Treg cell-adoptive transferred nu/nu mice compared with control mice. Infusion of CD4+CD25+Treg cells into wild-type Balb/c mice reduced serum blood urea nitrogen and creatinine levels equivalent to those in nu/nu mice and extended their survival time after cisplatin injection. In contrast, depletion of CD4+CD25+ Treg cells in wild-type mice exacerbated kidney injury after cisplatin administration. Transcription factor Foxp3-positive cells (Treg cells) were detected in the kidneys of nu/nu mice after cisplatin injection. Our results suggest that CD4+CD25+ Treg cells directly affect cisplatin nephrotoxicity and their modulation represents an additional treatment strategy.