In order to determine the relationship between the nephrotoxicity of acetaminophen and urinary gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT) excretion, a single dose of 900 mg/kg acetaminophen (APAP) was administered to rats intraperitoneally. Following drug administration, 24 hour urine was collected and the kidneys were removed under ether anesthesia for histological examination. GGT activity measurements and quantitative analysis for creatinine was carried out on urine samples. Urinary GGT activity in the APAP administered group (n=12) (1.88 ± 0.21 U/mg creatinine) was significantly higher than in the control group (n=16) (0.77 ± 0.05 U/mg creatinine) (p<0.0002). Histological examination of the kidneys under light microscopy showed only very slight tissue damage. Further use of urinary GGT activity measurements in experimental nephrotoxicity studies has been suggested.

The aim of this study was to compare the effect of acetate- and bicarbonate-containing dialysis solutions (buffers) on serum lipid (triglyceride and total cholesterol) and lipoprotein (LDL, HDL and its subfractions as HDL2 and HDL3', Apolipoprotein A1 and Apolipoprotein B) values in patients undergoing haemodialysis. Lipid concentrations in 16 patients on bicarbonate and in 18 patients on acetate haemodialysis were investigated initially and after four weeks of dialysis treatment. Over four weeks of treatment both acetate and bicarbonate dialysis treatments had no negative effects on either HDL or HDL subfractions, and these buffering systems were indistinguishable from each other. We confirm that HDL is the major factor that is changed in the lipid profile in haemodialysis patients undergoing acetate or bicarbonate dialysis and suggest that the relation between LDL and HDL subfractions may be useful for monitoring the lipid changes in haemodialysis patients at risk of atherogenesis.