Potential Effects of Selenium And N-Acetylcysteine Supplementation in Ameliorating Cardinal Symptoms of Nω-Nitro-L-Arginine Methyl Ester Hydrochloride (L-NAME) Induced Preeclampsia in Wistar Rats

Background: Preeclampsia (PE) is a hypertensive disorder in pregnancy affecting multiple organ systems. This study hypothesized that oxidative stress and inflammatory responses contribute to the pathogenesis of Preeclampsia, and that selenium and N-acetylcysteine (NAC) could mitigate these effects. Methods: The study was initiated after approval from the Institutional Animal Ethics Committee. Twenty-four female Wistar rats were divided equally into four groups. Group I served as controls, while Groups II, III, and IV received Nω-Nitro-L-arginine methyl ester hydrochloride (L-NAME) to induce hypertension from day ۱۰ to ۲۰ of gestation. Additionally, Group III received selenium (۲۴۰ μg/kg/day) and Group IV received NAC (۱۶۰ mg/kg). On day ۲۰, Blood Pressure (BP) monitoring and urine protein estimation were carried out to assess hypertension and proteinuria, while blood samples were collected to measure malondialdehyde (MDA) and interleukin-۶ (IL-۶) levels, as markers of oxidative stress and inflammation, respectively. Statistical analysis was performed using GraphPad Prism ۱۰.۲. Results: Selenium improved L-NAME-induced hypertension (Mean BP ۱۰۷.۶۳±۵.۲۲ mmHg vs ۱۴۰.۹±۸.۳۸ mmHg in disease control (DC) and proteinuria (۶۵.۵±۴.۰۹ vs ۱۴۰.۲±۱۱.۸۵ mg/day in DC) and significantly reduced the inflammatory response (IL-۶ ۲۳.۴±۱.۰۶ vs ۵۰.۶۳±۳.۳۵ pg/mL in DC) but had little effect on oxidative stress (MDA ۰.۲۱±۰.۰۲ vs ۰.۲۴±۰.۰۲ nmol/mL in DC). NAC did not lower BP (Mean BP ۱۲۹.۳۳±۷.۹۶ mmHg) but significantly reduced proteinuria (۹۲.۷±۶.۳۷mg/day), IL-۶ levels (۱۸.۲۴±۰.۴۲ pg/mL), and oxidative stress (MDA ۰.۱۶±۰.۰۱ nmol/mL). Conclusions: These findings suggest that selenium and NAC play distinct protective roles in the pathophysiology of preeclampsia, potentially offering synergistic effects for cardiovascular and kidney health in hypertensive pregnancies.

کلیدواژه ها:

Gestational hypertension ، Inflammation ، Interleukin-۶ ، Oxidative stress ، Preeclampsia ، Proteinuria.