Effect of doxazosin on expression of eNOS in rat kidney in the presence of partial bladder outlet obstruction.

Background: The role of nitric oxide in the pathogenesis of renal injury has begun to be appreciated. We there- fore designed this study to demonstrate the relationship between endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) ex- pression and doxazosin in the kidneys of rats with surgi- cally created partial bladder outlet obstruction (BOO), to further understand the role of doxazosin in the preven- tion of renal parenchymal damage by partial BOO. Material and methods: A total of 35 adult female Wistar rats, mean weight 250 g, were randomly allocated to 3 experimental groups: group1, sham-operated (n=10); group 2, partial BOO group (n=14) and group 3, partial BOO group treated with doxazosin (n=11). Partial BOO in rats was surgically induced. Results were assessed by eNOS immunohistochemistry. Results: eNOS staining in kidneys in group 1 (16.45 ± 1.63) was significantly higher than in group 2 (5.09 ± 0.61) (p 0.05). Conclusion: These findings may provide insight into the beneficial and restorative effects of α 1 -adrenoceptor antagonists on eNOS expression in the kidney, when used to treat symptoms of benign prostate hyperplasia and hypertension.