Heymann Nephritis-DOCA-NaCl Hypertension in the Rat

Abstract

In order to explore the impact of nephritis on the development of hypertension, rats with Heymann nephritis were given 0.9% NaCI to drink, in combination with or without DOCA injections, for up to 6 months. Combined nephritis-DOCA-NaCl resulted in severe hypertension and shortened life span, whereas nephritis-NaCl combination failed to induce hypertension or shorten life span. All immunized rats developed membranous glomerulonephritis but creatinine clearance did not decrease. DOCA-NaCl-treated nephritic rats had a heavier proteinuria and more marked renal lesions than NaCl-treated nephritis rats. Proliferative-sclerotic glomerular lesions were seen in the nephritis-DOCA-NaCl group only, correlating to the severity of hypertension. Other renal and extrarenal vascular lesions, increasing with time, also appeared related to the severity of hypertension. This suggests a secondary relationship of vascular damage to hypertension in this model. Appearance of proteinuria preceded the establishment of hypertension, suggesting that nephritis sensitized to the development of hypertension during DOCA-NaCl treatment. Sodium excess alone, however, did not induce hypertension in Heymann nephritic rats. The present Heymann nephritis-DOCA-NaCl hypertension model appears a useful model for the study of hypertension complicating glomerulonephritis.

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“…In the kidney of that model, the authors described diverse pathological changes, such as glomerular capillary hyalinosis, tubular dilatation, and tissue fibrosis [10]. Aggravation of renal injury by DOCA has also been reported in other models of experimental nephritis and hypertension [61][62][63].…”