Repeated Pregnancy does not Accelerate Glomerulosclerosis in Rats with Subtotal Renal Ablation

Abstract

We studied the effect of repeated pregnancy on renal function and histology in female rats subjected to approximately 5/6 renal ablation, using both the surgical nephrectomy (P-Neph) and renal infarction (P-Inf) models, comparing these to paired rats not subjected to pregnancy (C-Neph and C-Inf), and Sham operated controls (CON). Though both P-Neph and P-Inf rats had multiple litters (mean 2.66, 2.33 respectively), when compared at 20 weeks post operatively with C-Neph and C-Inf respectively, there was no deterioration in renal function in respect of serum creatinine, proteinuria or histology including the frequency of focal glomerulosclerosis (FGS).

Successive pregnancy in the subtotal renal ablated rat appears to have no adverse effect on the lesions of FGS nor to alter the course of progressive renal failure in this animal.

Key Words:

• Pregnancy
• Rat
• Nephrectomy