Kidney ischemia/reperfusion injury is a major cause of acute renal failure following hemorrhagic shock and cardiovascular surgery. It also occurs during renal transplantation where it promotes early and long-term damages to the transplant. In a recent study, Claude Sadis,  anaesthesiologist in training as MD-PhD in the team of Alain Le Moine at IMI, provided evidence that injection of nicotine protects renal function and limits damages to the renal tissue. This anti-inflammatory action of nicotine exerted via a specific receptor for acetylcholine is in line with the recent demonstration of connections between the nervous system and the immune system. Results of this study suggest therapeutic applications of nicotine and related products to prevent acute renal failure and to improve the outcome of kidney transplantation. This work, supported by the Fonds Erasme pour la Recherche Médicale and the Fonds Van Buuren was performed in collaboration with the group of Sandrine Florquin at the Academic Medical Center in Amsterdam. It is published in the May issue of PlosOne, a new international peer-reviewed online journal published by the Public Library of Science, a non-profit organization dedicated to dissemination of results of scientific research in an open-access environment.

 

Related reference: Sadis C, Teske G, Stokman G, Kubjak C, Claessen N, Moore F, Loi P, Diallo B, Barvais L, Goldman M, Florquin S, Le Moine A. Nicotine protects kidney from renal ischemia/reperfusion injury through the cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway. PlosOne 2007; 2: e469. Read Paper