CELL-DEATH DURING POSTNATAL MORPHOGENESIS OF NORMAL RABBIT KIDNEY AND IN EXPERIMENTAL RENAL POLYCYSTOSIS

  • 1 January 1978
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 126  (JUN) , 303-318
Abstract
The normal and abnormal cell death that takes place during the postnatal morphogenesis of rabbit kidney, and in the experimental renal polycystosis produced by methylprednisolone acetate, was studied by light microscopy and EM. In the normal kidney, intertubular cell death was observed during the first 20 days of the postnatal development. However, cell death in the normal metanephric blastema was very rare. In the polycystic kidney, numerous dead cells were seen between the 3rd-48th days after injection. Topography and morphology of dead cells depended on the stage in evolution of the disease. In the renal immaturity stage, dying and dead cells were present in the nephrogenic tissue, in the dilating collecting tubules and in the intertubular spaces. In this stage, the cellular pathology is essentially nuclear. In the stage of tubular cysts, dead cells were mostly located in cyst walls, with some dead cells, but mostly cellular debris in their lumina. At this stage, the cellular pathology was basically cytoplasmic. Dead cells were eventually digested by what appear to be phagocytes of tubular epithelial origin. Cell death may be an important factor in the evolution of lesions of renal polycystosis induced by corticosteroids, and probably in the initiation of the pathological process as well.