Protective Role of Training and Selenium Consumption Against Renal Toxicity Induced by Cadmium in Rats

Background: Cadmium is a toxic metal, which can cause damage to the renal tissue. Various studies have suggested the protective role of training and selenium as a cofactor involved in the production of antioxidants in acute and chronic kidney disease, although the molecular-cellular mechanism of these two interventions is still not fully understood in the renal tissue. Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the protective effects of training and selenium consumption on the renal tissue of cadmium-poisoned rats. Methods: In this experimental study, 40 rats were randomly assigned into eight groups of five rats, including: (1) control, (2) sham, (3) cadmium, (4) cadmium + selenium, (5) cadmium + continuous training, (6) cadmium + high intensity interval training (HIIT), (7) cadmium + continuoustraining + selenium, and (8) cadmium + HIIT + selenium. During eight weeks, rats in groups 3 - 8 received 2 mg/kg of cadmium peritoneally daily and rats in groups 4, 7, and 8 received 0.23 mg/kg of selenium per day, peritoneally. Also, rats in groups 5 - 8 were given three sessions of HIIT (with 80 - 110 percentage of maximum speed) and continuous training (with 50% to 75% of maximum speed) for three sessions per week. Shapiro-Wilk, one-way ANOVA, two-way ANOVA, and Bonferroni’s post hoc tests were used to analyze the findings. The significance level was considered at 0.05. Results: Continuous training had a significant effect on reduction of albumin (ALB) (P = 0.001) and total bilirubin (TBIL) (P = 0.001), in addition, HIIT had a significant effect on reduction of ALB (P = 0.001) and TBIL (P = 0.04). The results of the two-way ANOVA test showed that selenium had a significant effect on the reduction of ALB (P = 0.001), TBIL (P = 0.001), and histidine ammonia-lyase (HAL) (P = 0.001). In addition, training with selenium had interactive effects on the reduction of TBIL (P = 0.004) and HAL (P = 0.001). Conclusions: It seems that continuous training and HIIT, along with selenium consumption, have protective effects on the renal tissue of cadmium-poisoned rats.