Impact of aortocaval shunt flow on cardiac and renal function in unilateral nephrectomized rats.

Jie Wu,Zhong Cheng,Ye Gu,Mingjing Zhang,Pengfei Zhu

doi:10.1038/srep27493

Abstract

We previously reported significantly enhanced cardiac remodeling post aortocaval fistula (AV) in unilateral nephrectomized (UNX) rats. However, the relationship between the size of the AV and the cardiorenal effects in UNX rats remains unknown. In the present study, AV was induced by 20, 18 and 16 gauge needles in UNX rats to see if larger shunt would definitely induce heavier cardiac and renal damage in UNX rats. Our results demonstrated that bigger shunt size is linked with proportional more significant cardiorenal remodeling and dysfunction in UNX rats. Expression of inflammatory biomarkers including CRP, TNF-α, IL-6, IL-1β, TGF-β and MCP-1 in left kidney and heart was significantly increased in all UNX + AV groups compared to Sham rats. Inflammation might thus participate in the worsening cardiorenal functions and remodeling processes in this model.

Highlights

As described in our previous report, UNX only induces minor renal dysfunction, additional chronic volume overload placement during the adaptation phase of the remaining kidney is associated with aggravated cardiorenal dysfunction and remodeling in UNX rats[1]
In 2012, Martin et al reported that UNX induced mild CKD could result in early cardiac fibrosis in case of mild diastolic impairment and preserved systolic function, the cardiac hypertrophy and impairment of heart function progressed over time[2]
We observed if the shunt volume would be a critical determinant for above changes, i.e. the larger the shunt, the bigger the harm

Summary

Results

Rat brain natriuretic peptide-45 tended to be slightly higher post UNX +AV operations compared to Sham group, but the value was similar among group AV20, AV18 and AV16. In proportion to AV size, especially in group AV18 and AV16, GFR (0.045 ± 0.015 ml/min/kg in UNX), ERPF (0.871 ± 0.712 ml/min/kg in UNX), RBF (1.468 ± 1.200 ml/min/kg in UNX) further decreased and FENa (0.120 ± 0.075 in UNX), 24 h Albumiuria (113.35 ± 127.44 ug in UNX) and focal segmental glomerulosclerosis quantification (0.620 ± 0.030 in UNX) further increased compared to the UNX alone group from the previous study[1]. For most parameters in right ventricle, the highest expression was seen in AV20 group

Discussion

Study protocol and experiments were approved by the Jianghan Medical College

Author Contributions

Additional Information