Roles of Hydrogen Sulfide Donors in Common Kidney Diseases

Ebenezeri Erasto Ngowi; Muhammad Sarfraz; Attia Afzal; Nazeer Hussain Khan; Saadullah Khattak; Xin Zhang; Tao Li; Shao-Feng Duan; Xin-Ying Ji; Dong-Dong Wu

doi:10.3389/fphar.2020.564281

Roles of Hydrogen Sulfide Donors in Common Kidney Diseases

Front Pharmacol. 2020 Nov 19:11:564281. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2020.564281. eCollection 2020.

Authors

Ebenezeri Erasto Ngowi^{1

2

3}, Muhammad Sarfraz^{1

2

4

5}, Attia Afzal^{1

2

5}, Nazeer Hussain Khan^{2

6}, Saadullah Khattak^{1

2}, Xin Zhang^{6

7}, Tao Li^{1

2}, Shao-Feng Duan^{2

6

7}, Xin-Ying Ji^{1

2

8}, Dong-Dong Wu^{1

2

9}

Affiliations

¹ School of Basic Medical Sciences, Henan University, Kaifeng, China.
² Henan International Joint Laboratory for Nuclear Protein Regulation, Henan University, Kaifeng, China.
³ Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, Dar es Salaam University College of Education, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
⁴ Kaifeng Municipal Key Laboratory of Cell Signal Transduction, Henan Provincial Engineering Centre for Tumor Molecular Medicine, Henan University, Kaifeng, China.
⁵ Faculty of Pharmacy, The University of Lahore, Lahore, Pakistan.
⁶ College of Pharmacy, Henan University, Kaifeng, China.
⁷ Institute for Innovative Drug Design and Evaluation, School of Pharmacy, Henan University, Kaifeng, China.
⁸ Diseases and Bio-Safety, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Henan University, Kaifeng, China.
⁹ School of Stomatology, Henan University, Kaifeng, China.

Abstract

Hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) plays a key role in the regulation of physiological processes in mammals. The decline in H₂S level has been reported in numerous renal disorders. In animal models of renal disorders, treatment with H₂S donors could restore H₂S levels and improve renal functions. H₂S donors suppress renal dysfunction by regulating autophagy, apoptosis, oxidative stress, and inflammation through multiple signaling pathways, such as TRL4/NLRP3, AMP-activated protein kinase/mammalian target of rapamycin, transforming growth factor-β1/Smad3, extracellular signal-regulated protein kinases 1/2, mitogen-activated protein kinase, and nuclear factor kappa B. In this review, we summarize recent developments in the effects of H₂S donors on the treatment of common renal diseases, including acute/chronic kidney disease, renal fibrosis, unilateral ureteral obstruction, glomerulosclerosis, diabetic nephropathy, hyperhomocysteinemia, drug-induced nephrotoxicity, metal-induced nephrotoxicity, and urolithiasis. Novel H₂S donors can be designed and applied in the treatment of common renal diseases.

Keywords: H2S donors; common renal diseases; physiological process; renal dysfunction; signaling pathways.

Publication types

Review