CYTOPROTECTIVE EFFECT OF ULINASTATIN ON LLC-PK1 CELLS TREATED WITH ANTIMYCIN-A, GENTAMICIN, AND CISPLATIN

The cytoprotective effect of ulinastatin was studied in LLC-PK1 cells treated with antimycin A, gentamicin, or cisplatin. All of the three a gents induced a concentration-dependent increase in the release of lac tate dehydrogenase and a decrease in the amount of remaining protein. In the cell injury models treated with 1.5 mu M antimycin A, 10 mM gen tamicin, and 0.3 mM cisplatin, ulinastatin tended to show a cytoprotec tive effect at a concentration of 3,000 U/ml and provided a significan t protective effect at 10,000 U/ml. LLC-PK1 cells treated with 0.3 mM cisplatin, bovine serum albumin, and alpha(1)-acid glycoprotein at a c oncentration of 3.54 mg/ml, which is a comparable protein concentratio n to that of 10,000 U/ml ulinastatin, showed no protective effect but rather enhanced cell injury. These results suggest that ulinastatin ex erts direct protective effect on LLC-PK1 cells against various renal t oxicities.