Evaluation of the Antioxidant Property of NO Donors against Vascular Damage Induced by Cyclosporine along with High Fat Diet

Abstract

Cyclosporine (CsA) is the most effective and widely used first line immunosuppressant in solid organ transplantation which is a potent vasoconstrictor and can induce vascular damage. Endogenous L-Arginine (L-Arg) and L – Citrulline (L-Cit) are physiological amino acids in most living systems which act through NO-cGMP pathway and result vasodilation. Hence, the antioxidant property of NO donors L-Arg and L-Cit were evaluated against the vascular damage induced by cyclosporine A, along with HFD that serve as a model to induce Atherosclerosis followed by the vascular damage caused by CsA in C57BL/6J mice for 90 days. Antioxidant profiles (SOD, catalase, GSH, GSH Px and TBARS) were assessed in aorta, kidney and liver tissues at the end of experiment. L-Arginine and L-Citrulline administration resulted significant improvements in all the antioxidant parameters. The effects of L-Arginine were comparable to L-Citrulline, while the combination of L-Arginine and L-Citrulline was found superior in this study. Hence, with this present study, it could be concluded that, the ability of nitric oxide boosting substances, including L-Arg and L-Cit are having antioxidant effect and could reverse the progression of vascular disorders induced by cyclosporine along with HFD.