PROTECTIVE EFFECTS OF BETAMIPRON ON RENAL TOXICITY DURING REPEATED CISPLATIN ADMINISTRATION IN RATS AND PROTECTIVE MECHANISM

The protective effects of betamipron (BP, N-benzoyl-beta-alanine) agai nst nephrotoxicity induced by repeated cisplatin injections were exami ned. The ratio of the kidney weight to body weight and the lipid perox ide level after treatment with cisplatin plus BP tended to be larger a nd lower than those after treatment with cisplatin plus alkaline solut ion, respectively. The blood urea nitrogen, serum creatinine and gluta thione levels in the animals treated with cisplatin plus BP differed s ignificantly from those in the animals treated with cisplatin plus alk aline solution. Furthermore, the mechanism of the preventive effects o f BP was analyzed for cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity. The concentrat ion of cisplatin in the renal cortex significantly decreased with conc omitant BP. BP inhibited the uptake of cisplatin into the renal cortex in a competitive manner in the same way as an anionic transport inhib itor, probenecid. The treatment with BP appears to be useful for the r enal toxicity induced by repeated cisplatin administration.