J Cell Biochem. 2019;1-12. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/jcb © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. | 1 Received: 25 October 2018 | Accepted: 4 June 2019 DOI: 10.1002/jcb.29228 RESEARCH ARTICLE Evaluation of the effect of cafeteria diet on the kidney Na,K‐ATPase activity, and oxidative stress Isadora Reis Restier Pinheiro 1 | Marina Fátima Nunes Melo 1 | Sarah Vivas de Sousa 1 | Bárbara Gatti Cardoso 2 | Thaís Marques da Silva 2 | Luciana Pereira Rangel 4 | Vanessa Faria Cortes 1,3 | Hérica de Lima Santos 1,3 | Valéria Ernestânia Chaves 2 | Israel José Pereira Garcia 1,3 | Leandro Augusto Barbosa 1,3 1 Laboratório de Bioquímica Celular, Universidade Federal de São João del‐Rei, Campus Centro‐Oeste Dona Lindu, Divinópolis, Minas Gerais, Brazil 2 Laboratório de Fisiologia, Universidade Federal de São João del‐Rei, Campus Centro‐Oeste Dona Lindu, Divinópolis, Minas Gerais, Brazil 3 Laboratório de de Bioquímica de Membranas e ATPases, Universidade Federal de São João del‐Rei, Campus Centro‐Oeste Dona Lindu, Divinópolis, Minas Gerais, Brazil 4 Laboratório de Bioquímica Tumoral, Faculdade de Farmácia, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Correspondence Israel José Pereira Garcia and Leandro Augusto Barbosa, Universidade Federal de São João del Rei, Campus Centro‐Oeste Dona Lindu, Av Sebastião Gonçalves Coelho, 400, 35501‐296 Divinopolis, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Email: israelpereiragarcia@hotmail.com (IJPG) and lbarbosa@ufsj.edu.br (LAB) Funding information Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico, Grant/Award Number: 401914/2016‐0; Fundação de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Minas Gerais, Grant/Award Number: APQ‐ 00290‐16; Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior, Grant/Award Number: Finance Code 001 Abstract In this study, renal tissue, subdivided into the cortex and medulla of Wistar rats subjected to a cafeteria diet (CAF) for 24 days or to normal diet, was used to analyze whether the renal enzyme Na,K‐ATPase activity was modified by CAF diet, as well as to analyze the α1 subunit of renal Na,K‐ATPase expression levels. The lipid profile of the renal plasma membrane and oxidative stress were verified. In the Na,K‐ATPase activity evaluation, no alteration was found, but a significant decrease of 30% in the cortex was detected in the α1 subunit expression of the enzyme. There was a 24% decrease in phospholipids in the cortex of rats submitted to CAF, a 17% increase in cholesterol levels in the cortex, and a 23% decrease in the medulla. Lipid peroxidation was significantly increased in the groups submitted to CAF, both in the cortical region, 29%, and in the medulla, 35%. Also, a reduction of 45% in the glutathione levels was observed in the cortex and medulla with CAF. CAF showed a nearly two‐fold increase in glutathione peroxidase (GPX) activity in relation to the control group in the cortex and a 59% increase in the GPx activity in the medulla. In conclusion, although the diet was administered for a short period of time, important results were found, especially those related to the lipid profile and oxidative stress, which may directly affect renal function. KEYWORDS cafeteria diet, kidneys, membrane lipids, Na,K‐ATPase, oxidative stress