C. Fujihara, D. Malheiros, I. Noronha
Jan 1, 2001
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Influential Citations
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Journal
Hypertension: Journal of the American Heart Association
Abstract
We and others have recently shown that mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) reduces renal inflammation and glomerular and interstitial injury in the 5/6 renal ablation model. In the present study, we investigated whether MMF limits renal injury in a model of chronic nitric oxide (NO) inhibition associated with a high-salt diet and characterized by progressive systemic hypertension, albuminuria, glomerular sclerosis and ischemia, interstitial expansion, and progressive macrophage infiltration. Adult male Münich-Wistar rats were distributed among 3 groups: HS, rats receiving a high-salt diet (3.2% Na); HS+N, HS rats orally treated with the NO inhibitor N&ohgr;-nitro-l-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME), 25 mg · kg−1 · d−1; and HS+N+MMF, HS+N rats orally treated with MMF, 10 mg · kg−1 · d−1. Renal hemodynamics were studied after 15 days of treatment; histological and immunohistochemical studies were conducted after 30 days of treatment. MMF treatment did not reverse the hemodynamic alterations characteristic of this model. Renal injury in the HS+N group was associated with macrophage and lymphocyte infiltration. Treatment with MMF reduced glomerular and interstitial injury and limited macrophage and lymphocyte infiltration. These results suggest that renal inflammation is a strong independent factor in the pathogenesis of the nephropathy associated with the HS+N model.