Renal and Extrarenal Erythropoietin Production in Anaemic Rats

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Abstract
Rats were rendered anemic by a single bleeding or a single injection of phenylhydrazine. At various times after the onset of anemia they were nephrectomized and challenged with a 6 h exposure to hypoxia. The erythropoietin titer observed at the end of this hypoxic period was corrected for renal erythropoietin induced by the anemia alone, and the resulting extrarenal component was compared to total erythropoietin production of nephric rats in response to anemia plus 6 h hypoxia. Extrarenal erythropoietin production increased from 10.3% in normal rats to 12.5% in moderately anemic rats to 15.1% in rats with severe bleeding anemia. In phenylhydrazine-treated rats this extrarenal component was 18.3%, possibly due to stimulation of extrarenal erythropoietin by hemolyzed red cells. Chronic phenylhydrazine administration resulted in splenomegaly and Kupffer cell hyperactivity but not in any further stimulation of extrarenal erythropoietin production.