Nutrition research
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Renal dysfunction is a severe complication that is caused by diabetes mellitus. Many factors associate the progression of this complication with high levels of proinflammatory and pro-oxidant substances, such as advanced glycation end products (AGEs), which form a heterogeneous group of compounds that can accumulate in tissues such as retinas, joints, and kidneys. The hypothesis of this study is that n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFAs) have a nephroprotective effect on rats after exposing them to a combination of 2 protocols that increase the AGE amounts: a high-fat diet enriched with AGEs and a diabetes rat model. ⋯ Diabetes mellitus was induced by an intraperitoneal injection of alloxan (150 mg kg(-1)). In diabetic and nondiabetic rats, the high HAGE fat-containing diet increased the serum creatinine, tumor necrosis factor-α, thiobarbituric acid reactive substances, and reactive oxygen species levels, as well as the superoxide dismutase/catalase + glutathione peroxidase ratio and the superoxide dismutase 2 and receptor for advanced glycation end products immunocontent of the kidneys. n-3 Polyunsaturated fatty acids attenuated these alterations and influenced the receptor for advanced glycation end products/oxidative stress/tumor necrosis factor-α axis. In summary, this study showed that the extrinsic AGE pathway (HAGE diet) had a greater effect on renal metabolism than the intrinsic AGE pathway (diabetes induction) and that n-3 PUFAs appear to prevent renal dysfunction via antioxidant and anti-inflammatory pathways.