A low-calorie unrestricted protein diet attenuates kidney damage in uninephrectomized spontaneously hypertensive rats

Uninephrectomized, spontaneously hypertensive rats (UNX-SHR) develop glomerular hyperfiltration, hyperfusion, and interstitial infiltrate of the remnant kidney. Consequently, UNX-SHR is a useful animal model to investigate mechanisms involved in the progression of hypertensive renal disease.

Body weight; tail systolic blood pressure (SBP); urine excretion of protein, urea, and electrolytes; and serum biochemistry were determined in UNX-SHR at 2 months of age prior to uninephrectomy (week 0), prior to treatment (week 8) with a low-calorie (LC) or control diet, and one month after diet treatment (week 12). The LC diet was modified to allow equal intake of protein, sodium phosphorus, and other nutrients in both groups.

UNX-SHR treated with the LC diet had significantly lower body weights and SBP at the end of the experiment than did the controls (p < 0.0001). Changes in serum biochemistry and 24-hour urinary excretion of protein, sodium, potassium, and urea nitrogen in both groups were not statistically significant. The final glomerular filtration rate and renal plasma flow were similar in both groups, but the LC diet significantly reduced the glomerular damage index (0.0007), mesangial expansion index (p < 0.002), volume of interstitium per cortex (p < 0.0003), tubular interstitium volume fraction (p < 0.0008), glomerular volume (p < 0.02), and remnant kidney weight (p < 0.01).

We demonstrated that in UNX-SHR, the prevention of renal damage by LC diet may involve diminished glomerular growth and interstitial infiltrate without changes in renal hemodynamics. Consequently, LC diet, regardless of protein ingestion, may be an important tool in the prevention of renal damage in hypertension. Additional studies of obese-hypertensive rats may confirm the beneficial effect of a LC diet and weight reduction on the renal damage of obesity-hypertension.