Renal histoarchitectural changes in nevirapine therapy: possible role of kolaviron  and vitamin C in an experimental animal model.

Ugochukwu Offor1, Sunday Adelaja Ajayi, Isaac Ayoola Jegede, Salem Kharwa, Edwin Coleridge Naidu, Onyemaechi Okpara Azu.

1. Discipline of Clinical Anatomy, School of Laboratory Medicine and Medical Sciences. NelsonR Mandela School of
Medicine, University of KwaZulu-Natal, SouthAfrica.
2. Anatomy Department, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Health Sciences. Ladoke Akintola University
of Technology, Ogbomosho,Nigeria.
3. Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Medicine. Ekiti State University, Ado-Ekiti,
Nigeria.
4. Department of Anatomy, School of Medicine, University of Namibia, Windhoek, Namibia.

Abstract
Background: There is paucity of literature regarding the nephrotoxicity of antiretroviral drugs and its interaction with plantbased adjuvants. This study investigates the attenuating effect of kolaviron in nevirapine- therapy on the histological structure  of the kidneys of adult male Sprague-Dawley rats.

Objective: To determine the attenuating influence of anti-oxidant status of kolaviron on the kidneys of experimental animals following nevirapine administration.

Methods:Forty eight pathogen-free adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were used for this study. The animals were divided into 8 groups (A-H) with 6 animals in each group. Group A was given normal saline as the control; group B was given nevirapine; group C was given kolaviron; group D was given vitamin C; group E was given nevirapine and kolaviron; group F was given nevirapine and vitamin C; Group G was given nevirapine and kolaviron (kolaviron withdrawn after day 28) and group H was given corn oil. The experiment lasted 56 days after which the animals were sacrificed, blood samples were collected through cardiac puncture for serum analysis and the kidneys were harvested and prepared for H& E histological examination.

Results: Nevirapine caused histoarchitectural damage in the glomerular apparatus with resultant increase in kidney/body weight ratio (p<0.001). Adjuvant treatment with kolaviron attenuated these nephrotoxic effects. Serum anti-oxidant enzyme (SOD and CAT) activities were significantly reduced in kolaviron and vitamin C treated animals, whereas in the nevirapine group these parameters were significantly elevated (P<0.05). However, co-administration of nevirapine and vitamin C did not improve the histoarchitecture of the kidney.

Conclusion: Adjuvant treatment with kolaviron (an anti-oxidant) for 56 days appears to attenuate the nephrotoxicity of nevirapine in this model.

Keywords: Kidney, histoarchitecture, kolaviron, antiretroviral drugs.