C-Phycoerythrin Prevents Chronic Kidney Disease-Induced Systemic Arterial Hypertension, Avoiding Oxidative Stress and Vascular Dysfunction in Remanent Functional Kidney

Abstract

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a burden in low- and middle-income countries, and a late diagnosis with systemic arterial hypertension (SAH) is the major complication of CKD. C-phycoerythrin (CPE) is a bioactive compound derived from Phormidium persicinum that presents anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects in vitro and nephroprotective effects in vivo. In the current study, we determine the antihypertensive effect of CPE in a 5/6 nephrectomy-induced CKD model using twenty normotensives male Wistar rats, grouped into four groups (n = 5): sham; sham + CPE; 5/6 nephrectomy (NFx); and NFx + CPE. Treatment started a week post-surgery and continued for five weeks, with weekly hemodynamic evaluations. Following treatment, renal function, oxidative stress, and the expression of vascular dysfunction markers were assessed. The renal function analysis revealed CKD hyperfiltration, and the hemodynamic evaluation showed that SAH developed at the third week. AT1R upregulation and AT2R downregulation together with Mas1/p-Akt/p-eNOS axis were also observed. CPE treatment mitigated renal damage, preserved renal function, and prevented SAH with the modulation of the vasodilative AT1R, AT2R, and Mas1/pAKT/peNOS axis. This result reveals that CPE prevented CKD progression to SAH by avoiding oxidative stress and vascular dysfunction in the kidneys.