Enhanced recovery from postischemic acute renal failure. Micropuncture studies in the rat.

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Abstract
Recovery from unilateral postischemic acute renal failure produced by 1 h of complete renal artery occlusion in the rat is incomplete and is associated with the eventual loss of renal mass. The loss in renal mass can be reversed by removal of the contralateral kidney. Clearance and micropuncture techniques were used to compare whole kidney and individual nephron function of normal and postischemic kidneys. In sham-operated control animals, the left kidney weight (LKW) averaged 0.41 g/100 g body weight (BW), the inulin clearance (CIn) averaged 541 .mu.l/min per 100 g BW and single nephron glomerular filtration rate (SNGFR) averaged 15.4 nl/min per 100 g BW. The calculated number of nephrons, derived from the relationship CIn/SNGFR, was 37,780. The LKW of rats with the contralateral kidney in place averaged 0.30 g/100 g BW 4 wk after ischemia. CIn averaged 158 .mu.l/min per 100 g BW and SNGFR averaged 17.4 nl/min per 100 g BW. The calculated number of nephrons was 9460. In rats in which either the contralateral kidney was removed or its ureter ligated 2 wk following the period of ischemia (2 wk prior to study), LKW averaged 0.66 g/100 g BW, CIn averaged 415 .mu.l/min per 100 g BW and SNGFR averaged 19.4 nl/min per 100 g BW. The calculated number of nephrons was 24,152. The increases in size and CIn of the postischemic kidney, which occurred in response to the contralateral nephrectomy or ureteral ligation, evidently were due to the functional recruitment of nephrons which otherwise would have become atrophic. The extent of functional recovery from postischemic acute failure is not necessarily dependent on the nature of severity of the initial insult.