Renal function was evaluated in normal and after 30 days of % renal mass reduction (CRF) in Munich-Wistar (MW) rats, spontaneously hypertensive rats with superficial glomeruli (EPM), and in Brattleboro rats with congenital diabetes insipidus (DI). Mean arterial pressure was higher in EPM-Control and EPM-CRF rats as compared with MW and DI rats. MW and EPM rats with CRF showed increases of 120% and 196%, respectively, in single nephron glomerular filtration rate as compared with their controls. However, DI rats with CRF did not show any increase in single nephron glomerular filtration rate as compared with the control group. Therefore, the data suggest that the presence of hypertension enhances the adaptive mechanisms on remnant kidney's function. Conversely, in the absence of antidiuretic hormone, adaptive mechanisms of remnant nephrons did not occur. In addition, it was observed that rats with CRF submitted to prostaglandin blockade with indomethacin showed for MW rats a 55% and 20% reduction in ultrafiltration coefficient and in single nephron glomerular filtration rate, respectively. Decreases of 60% and 30% in ultrafiltration coefficient and single nephron glomerular filtration rate, respectively, were observed for EPM rats. Antidiuretic hormone (ADH) has been proposed to have a kidney trophic action, 4 and homozygous Brattleboro rats (DI), which lack ADH, do not show hyperfiltration after being fed a hyperproteic diet, 3 as is observed in other strains of rats. 2 Thus, the objectives of the present study were to evaluate the remnant kidney's function in hypertensive states and the role of ADH and PGs in this model by using spontaneously hypertensive rats with superficial glomeruli (EPM rats), DI rats, and indomethacin administration.
MethodsStudies were performed in Munich-Wistar (MW) rats (Simonsen Laboratories, Gilroy, California), EPM rats, and DI rats. EPM rats are the first generation of spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) (National Institutes of Health [NIH], Bethesda, Maryland) mated with MW rats and, thus, present spontaneous hypertension and superficial glomeruli.5 DI rats (NIH) have hereditary hypothalamic diabetes insipidus. All studies were performed in 3-4-month-old male rats, and they all were bred in the Animal House of Escola Paulista de Medicina. Each of the three strains of rats were divided into a control group and a group submitted to Y6 renal mass ablation (chronic renal failure [CRF]), which was studied 30 days after. The subtotal 5 /6 nephrectomy was performed by ligation of two or three branches of the left renal artery and right nephrectomy at the same time. All rats were allowed free access to regular rat chow and tap water until the morning of the study. Inactin (Byk, Gulden, Konstanz, Germany) anesthetic was used, and replacement of surgical volume losses was