Doxorubicin (DOX)-induced nephrotoxicity remains a major limitation to its clinical use, yet the underlying epigenetic mechanisms are incompletely understood. This study investigated the role of epigenetic dysregulation and MyD88/STAT3 signaling in DOX-induced renal injury and evaluated the renoprotective efficacy of rutin-loaded nanostructured lipid carriers (RUT-NLCs) compared with free rutin (RUT). Thirty-six rats were allocated to six experimental groups, and renal function, oxidative stress, inflammation, DNA damage, epigenetic modifications, MyD88/STAT3 signaling, histopathology, and ultrastructural changes were assessed. DOX administration induced severe renal dysfunction, oxidative stress, DNA damage, tubular injury, global DNA hypermethylation, aberrant histone AcademicEditor: AndrewC.Povey Received: 1July2026 Revised: 1August2026 Accepted: 6August2026 Published: 12 August2026 Copyright: ©2026bytheauthors. Licensee MDPI,Basel,Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the termsand conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY)license. methylation, Klotho promoter hypermethylation, and activation of the MyD88/STAT3 inflammatory pathway. Treatment with RUT-NLCs significantly attenuated these alterations by restoring antioxidant defenses, normalizing epigenetic markers, reducing DNA damage, suppressing MyD88/STAT3 signaling, and improving renal histopathological and ultrastructural architecture. Overall, RUT-NLCs provided greater nephroprotection than free rutin, suggesting that modulation of epigenetic alterations and MyD88/STAT3 signaling represents a key mechanism underlying their therapeutic efficacy against DOXinduced nephrotoxicity. |
