Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Suppresses Apoptosis and Promotes Renal Tubular Regeneration After Renal Ischemia/Reperfusion Injury in Rats

Renal ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury remains a major cause of acute kidney injury (AKI), in addition to I/R injury-induced tissue inflammation, necrosis and apoptosis. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBO) is defined as a treatment in which a patient is intermittently exposed to 100% oxygen pressurized to a pressure above sea level (> 2.0 atmospheres absolute (ATA), 1.0 ATA = 760 mmHg). It has been used in a number of medical conditions with a proven efficacy in a limited number of disorders. However, the effects of HBO therapy on apoptosis and proliferative activity after I/R injury have not been fully understood