Canagliflozin protects against cisplatin-induced acute kidney injury by AMPK-mediated autophagy in renal proximal tubular cells

Sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors, which are recently introduced as glucose-lowering agents, improve cardiovascular and renal outcomes in patients with diabetes mellitus. These drugs also have beneficial effects in various kidney disease models. However, the effect of SGLT2 inhibitors on cisplatin-induced acute kidney injury (AKI) and their mechanism of action need to be elucidated. In this study, we investigated whether canagliflozin protects against cisplatin-induced AKI, depending on adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK) activation and following induction of autophagy. In the experiments using the HK-2 cell line, cell viability assay and molecular analysis revealed that canagliflozin protected renal proximal tubular cells from cisplatin, whereas addition of chloroquine or compound C abolished the protective effect of canagliflozin. In the mouse model of cisplatin-induced AKI, canagliflozin protected mice from cisplatin-induced AKI. However, treatment with chloroquine or compound C in addition to administration of cisplatin and canagliflozin eliminated the protective effect of canagliflozin. Collectively, these findings indicate that canagliflozin protects against cisplatin-induced AKI by activating AMPK and autophagy in renal proximal tubular cells.